


Call My Huffle-Bluff

by hannahdelanty



Series: CMHBverse [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:41:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 70,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29341491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahdelanty/pseuds/hannahdelanty
Summary: Two wizards marked by the Dark Lord. A Seer gaining her Sight. The greatest evil sorcerer of all time returning. Katie finds herself in the centre of it all, much against her will.Katie Coventry is a pure blood Hufflepuff. An orphan, her parents died when she was too young to remember. Her closest friend is risking his life in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Now her brother, Jack, is missing.All the while, a blond Slytherin plays with the Hufflepuff girl, trying to forget what he must become.***I won't lie, the first few chapters are rough but it gets SO much betterIf you're looking for spice: chapters 4, 7, 9, 13, 18, 19 & 25 (so far)Takes place in fourth year but let's forget they're 14 (they're not in this.)DISCLAIMER: this is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone fic, but some OCs and stories won't make 100% sense.(originally on Wattpad, started Dec 2020)
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Series: CMHBverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2187957
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter One - September 2nd

The Great Hall was loud that morning. As Katie climbed the stairs from the dungeons and Hufflepuff common room, she could already hear the excited chatter from the hall above her. The noise only got louder as she reached the top of the stairs. As she rounded the corner she could see why.

It wasn't the Great Hall that was filled with people, it was the Entrance Hall. Everyone from first years to the prefects were pressing together in the large doorway, trying to peak over each other to catch a glimpse of what waited outside. Katie climbed onto one of the parts of the wall that poked out just enough for her to stand. Over the tops of all the heads, she could see what the noise was about. Just outside of the main doors were two large creatures. One, she knew from her brother's books, was a Hippogriff, she was certain.

The second creature was the real reason the students had been up so early. Standing nearly 18 feet was a scaly, green dragon, muzzled and caged on the Great Lawn. Katie could see the caretaker, Mr. Filch, guarding the open front doors, making sure no unruly students slipped out. Although, she wondered why anyone would want to slip out, as the dragon released a fiery breath. Two redheads came to mind as the only ones brave, or dumb, enough to test their luck.

"Katie!" called a girl from the Great Hall behind Katie. She climbed down from her vantage point to walk through the huge archways into the hall. Waiting just inside the doors was a short, brunette girl with large circular glasses, magnifying her amber eyes to three times their normal size.

"Did you see what's going on out there?" Katie asked as they walked down towards the Hufflepuff table.

"How could anyone miss it!" her voice sparkled with excitement. "What'd'ya reckon it's all for?"

"Hell if I know," she said, before quickly adding, "but you know it's going to have something to do with  _ those  _ three." She twitched her head towards the Gryffindor table. There sat three students from Katie's year, all in scarlet lined robes, whispering amongst themselves. She obviously knew who they were; there wasn't anyone in the castle who didn't know Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. Katie was pretty sure there wasn't anyone in the world who didn't know that last one.

"It's always got something to do with 'em," moaned the other Hufflepuff. "Why can't it be someone else for a change? Like a Hufflepuff." As they filled their plates with that morning's breakfast, they watched the trio get up and rush from their table. They were always rushing off somewhere.

The brunette, Juliette Cowan, and Katie had become friends on their very first day at Hogwarts. They were both sorted into Hufflepuff one after another, and became friends from there, despite not having much in common. Katie was a pureblood, while Juliette wasn't. In fact, Juliette was Muggle-born.

In their second year at Hogwarts, there had been a time when that would have driven them apart. A time when a monster roamed the halls, hoping to kill any muggle-born that crossed its path. Thankfully, no one died, this time. But that didn't stop some wizards from wishing that there had been a killing. As Katie looked across the Great Hall, she could see one of those wizards walking in.

Blond hair, pale skin, icy eyes. He walked with the kind of sway that made people clear a path for him. Well, it was either that or the two boulders he called his friends who cleared the path. The boy sat down at the Slytherin table, furthest away from the two Hufflepuffs, and struck up a conversation with a snouty girl across from him. Draco Malfoy was one of the wizards who had wished for the death of the muggle-borns. Katie could remember his taunts clearly.

"Filthy little mudbloods," he sneered one day as Katie, Juliette and Hermione walked through the halls towards their Herbology class. "Better hope the Heir doesn't go after you next."

But that was nearly two years ago, and things had changed at Hogwarts. No one had threatened any of the muggle-borns since, at least not as openly.

Katie and Juliette were finishing their breakfasts when another boy walked into the Great Hall. This one wore robes with gold inside. As he walked up to the Hufflepuff table, he passed the two girls with a smile. Cedric Diggory was the captain of their quidditch team and the best seeker they had ever had. He even beat Harry Potter once last year. The first one to ever beat Harry Potter. Of course, that was during the storm when the dementors had come onto the pitch, but it still counted.

"Girls," Cedric smiled as he sat down next to Katie. His brown hair flopped gently onto his forehead as he moved.

"Ced," Katie responded, giving him a small nod and smile. Juliette, however, couldn't lift her head from her plate, her cheeks as red as a Weasley. Katie had met Cedric before even coming to Hogwarts, her brother had been friends with him when he went to Hogwarts, but Juliette had only met him on their first day. The eleven year old was star-struck. Her crush on him had stayed with her all the way until now, their fourth year.

"Hi Ced-hic-ric," she chirped, hiccuping from nervousness. But Cedric was a good sport.

"How're you this morning Jules," he asked, trying to get her to meet his eyes. "Did you see the dragon outside? I reckon it's a Welsh Green." He turned to Katie. "Wish Jack were here, he'd know for sure."

Jack Coventry, Katie's older brother, had graduated last year. He had managed to get a job with one of his school friends, Charlie Weasley, out in Romania. Charlie and Jack had been obsessed with magical creatures, often trying to raise strange pets together in one dorm room or another.

"Yea, I wish he were here too." Katie gazed up the table to where Jack used to sit. The well worn seat was now empty, but Katie could still see him leaning back laughing. Jack hadn't written to her since he left for Romania in July, and Katie was starting to miss him. She turned back to Cedric. "Did you hear why it's here?"

Before he had time to answer, there was a loud bang from outside the Great Hall. Smoke floated in through the doorway and up into the bewitched ceiling, making the sunny morning sky appear clouded over. The three Hufflepuffs, along with the rest of the students in the hall, ran out to the front doors to see what had happened. To their surprise, the dragon had been unmuzzled and the shrubbery around the outside of the doors was burning down to embers. Beside the cage, a very frazzled Hagrid was trying to fan the flames out.

Katie and Cedric laughed from the back of the crowd. With a smile, Cedric left to return to the table, while Katie and Juliette went to their dormitory. With all the excitement, they were already running late for the one class they couldn't be late for; Potions with Professor Snape.

***

These dungeons smelled foul, not like the Hufflepuff side. Their corridor smelled of fresh baked pastries and wood burning fires. This one smelled wet and rotted. Katie pulled her robes tighter around her, trying to fight off the cold that threatened to get into her bones.

Professor Snape stood at the head of the room, demonstrating the proper way to make a cure for boils. Katie tried to follow along, but she was much faster at making potions than the rest of her class. Jack had also had a knack for it, and he had taught her how to brew simple potions before she had even started at Hogwarts. By the time Snape was done showing the class how to prepare the potion, Katie's was already done simmering and had turned the right shade of green. She smirked down at her potion, proud of what she had made.

As she looked up, a pair of icy eyes met hers. Draco gestured down at his own potion, which was bubbling the same shade of green. The Hufflepuffs had been having Potions with the Slytherins for two years now, and a rivalry had started between the two. Katie and Draco were top of the class, both able to brew potions much faster and better than any of the other students. He had taken to teasing her about it.

Professor Snape walked around the classroom, criticizing the Hufflepuff potions and praising the Slytherin ones. By the time he got to Katie's, her potion was ready for use.

"Miss Coventry," he sneered. "Would you like to demonstrate for the class how a properly brewed potion is supposed to work?" Katie knew it wasn't really a question. The professor reached out his hand inquisitively. Juliette gulped beside her, they both knew how she would be testing the potion.

Katie reached out her hand, putting it palm down in Snape's. He clamped into her wrist before reaching into his robes and pulling out a small vial. He unscrewed the cap and dropped several drops onto the back of Katie's hand. Her hand seared in pain as each individual drop grew into a festering boil.

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape croned. "Bring a ladle of your potion up here."

"Wait," Katie protested, ripping her hand away. "I thought we were testing my potion." Her eyes widened as the blond boy got closer with the green liquid.

"No, Miss Coventry, I asked if you would like to demonstrate a proper potion, surely you couldn't have thought I meant yours," Snape laughed. "Five points from Hufflepuff for insolence."

"Don't worry, Coventry, I didn't poison it," said the Slytherin, but the look in his eyes said differently. Draco Malfoy was so close now, she could smell the cooked snake fangs in the liquid. Snape grabbed Katie's hand and forced it out in front of her. The class sat in stunned silence as the boy dropped his potion over the boils.

White, hot pain coursed through her body. She let out a yelp as the liquid began to steam on her hand. The boils were definitely not being cured. In fact, Katie could feel them getting bigger. Professor Snape and Malfoy snickered to themselves, as they held her immobilized with her hand straight out in front of her. Katie looked away as she felt her skin burning underneath the potion. Juliette grabbed her other hand from behind her and tried to squeeze it reassuringly. Finally, as the last of the potion dripped off her hand, the Professor let her hand go. Katie quickly pulled it into her robes, tears welling in her eyes from the pain.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, returning to the front of the class. "Seems you didn't get it quite right." Draco only smirked at Katie as he said this. "Class dismissed," he said with a flick of his wand, as he performed a cleaning charm on the room. All of the cauldrons emptied and the tables cleared instantly.

The other students in the dungeon quickly tried to gather their things, in case he changed his mind and wanted to test more potions. Katie pulled her hand out from her robes. The skin had blistered with a serious burn across the top of her hand. As she stared at it, she noticed someone laughing in front of her.

"See," Malfoy snickered. "It got rid of the boils." He gave her one last laugh before leaving the dungeon. Juliette helped Katie grab all of her things from their tables. They quickly hurried to the door.

"Oh, and Miss Coventry," Professor Snape said from the front of the room. They turned back. The dark professor had an evil look on his face. "I would go see Madame Pomfrey about that unfortunate  _ accident _ you just had."


	2. Chapter Two - September 4th

Her hand was burned. As good of a Healer as Madame Pomfrey was, the skin on the top of Katie's left hand was now scarred and leathery. Word had travelled fast about how Snape had maimed a student in his class, however, Katie wasn't hopeful. This was what Snape did, and no one ever seemed to care.

Katie winced as she copied down her transfiguration notes. Being left-handed was hard now that her newly healed skin pulled painfully every time she tried to write. She was happy transfiguration was her last class. Out of the corner of her green eyes she could see Professor McGonagall giving her a pitying look.

As the bell rang through the castle signalling the end of the class, the professor called her to the front of the room.

"Miss Coventry," Professor McGonagall said, her voice stern. Katie noticed it wasn't as sharp as it normally was, as if there was a softness melting it. "I heard what happened to give you that burn." She motioned to Katie's hand, which Katie quickly tucked into her robes.

"Really, Professor," Katie said, not meeting her eyes. "I'm really fine, it doesn't even hurt anymore." But McGonagall could tell that she was lying. The tall woman straightened to her full height and gave the girl a kind look.

"Well, if you ever should find that it  _ is _ hurting," she said, no longer looking at Katie but back at the blackboards. "Your head of house and I have decided that we may be able to make an exception for you. Professor Sprout has graciously decided that she could take over your instruction on potions. She is quite knowledgeable with plant-based potions, you know." Katie shook her head.

"Thank you, Professor," she started. "But I'm so close to being top of the class, if I don't continue my lessons with Professor Snape, I'll never get above Malfoy." The corners of McGonagall's thin mouth curled into a smile, before she quickly covered it up.

"You sound like a Gryffindor, Miss Coventry," the old professor smiled.

"No ma'am," Katie said, sheepishly. "It's not like that. It's really about the learning."

"Then perhaps, a Ravenclaw." McGonagall gave what Katie would call a laugh then gave her a quick nod before dismissing her from the room. Katie grabbed her things before hurrying out of the classroom door.

In the hallway, she saw a trio of Gryffindor students standing closely together, whispering. Pressing closely to the wall, she approached them. That was the best part about being a Hufflepuff; no one noticed you. Her heart quickened. They were talking hurriedly, like it was about something important. The students were whispering fervently, but Katie picked up a couple words: ...You-Know-Who... dragon in the courtyard... Malfoy.

Katie rolled her eyes and walked away, directly past the group of Gryffindors. The three students quickly stopped talking as she passed. Hermione, who had always been a friend to Katie, gave her a smile and small wave as she passed, while Ron and Harry stared at their feet waiting for her to leave. Katie gave a small laugh to herself; of course that's what they were talking about. Paranoid Potter and his silly belief that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is coming back. Katie couldn't help but laugh that she had even considered they might be talking about something else.

Katie decided to drop off her books and head to the Owlery. One more letter to Jack couldn't hurt right? She scribbled out a letter, asking him how Romania was and how many dragons he had ridden. She also asked him why he wasn't responding to any of her owls. Although, she could feel somewhere inside that he wasn't going to respond to this one either.

She climbed the steps to the Owlery slowly. The tall tower was still warm in the early September sun, Katie basked in the warmth, savouring every moment. As she reached the top, she could hear the hooting of the hundreds of birds students kept at the school. She entered the barn-like room and headed over to her own owl, Eloise. Eloise looked up at her with her heart-shaped barn owl face. Katie ruffled her feathers appreciatively before tying the small letter to her leg.

"You bring this to Jack for me," she cooed at the bird. Eloise rubbed her head against Katie's palm, seemingly to say yes. With that, she stretched her dappled wings and took off. Katie went to the window to watch the bird soar over the horizon.

As Eloise left, Katie's thoughts returned to her brother. Her and Jack had been close since they had been children. Their parents had died in the first wizarding war, and the two children had been sent to live with a close friend of the family. The MacMillans and the Coventrys were two of the pureblood families that weren't in Slytherin, as the pureblood status became less important to those outside of that House by that time. Katie's grandmother had gone to school with Melania MacMillan– of course, she was Melania Black now. Regardless, the families had remained close throughout the years. Ernie, the youngest Macmillan, was in Katie's year at Hogwarts. Ernie had been kind when they were children, his parents had to explain to him why there were two new children in their house, but they had never been close despite both being sorted into Hufflepuff. As she and Jack got older, they began spending more holidays at the castle, Jack had even gone home with Charlie Weasley once or twice, only going home for summer vacation. The Macmillans were kind, they treated them like family, but they weren't.

Now that Jack had gone off to Romania and wasn't responding to her letters, Katie felt truly alone. All her family was gone, either through death or travel, and she was the sole Coventry left in all of England. But more than being lonely, she worried for Jack. He never went this long without talking to her. He must be busy with Charlie, she would reassure herself, but she wasn't even convincing herself at this point.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't heard the footsteps on the stairs behind her. She turned around just as a small snicker came from the other side of the room. Draco Malfoy was standing behind her, hands in his robe pockets, his face plastered with his sneering smirk.

"Are you lost, Coventry?" he chuckled to himself. He had a lazy sort of laugh, like he couldn't even be bothered to properly laugh. Katie shrugged her robes closer and went to push past him out of the tower. Malfoy, however, blocked the door.

"What'd'you want, Malfoy?" She tried to sound confident, but with the scars of their last encounter still fresh on her hand, she was wary.

"Just thought I'd come send my dear father a letter." His face contorted into a smile. "You see, I want to tell him about my cure for boils. He'll be happy to hear how well it worked." He glanced down at her scarred hand and sneered. Katie felt the blood rushing to her ears, angry that she couldn't do anything to hurt him without facing expulsion.

"Shove off, Malfoy," she muttered, digging her nails into her palms to stay calm. His blue eyes pierced her. Malfoy began to approach her, swaying as he walked. Suddenly, he was close enough that she could smell his expensive cologne. All she could think of was the last time he was this close to her, and searing pain in her hand that followed. Katie's heart thudded in her chest.

"Oooh," he sneered. "Little orphan's scared, isn't she." He raised his slender hand and a bony finger raked across her cheek. His hands were cold, despite the warm September air. As he touched her, all the sounds around her faded away, all she could feel was the cold hand on her cheek. Just as quickly, he pulled his hand back and bent down to her ear.

"You should be."

His mouth came down hard on her lips. He kissed her delicately for a moment before pulling away. She looked at his face; it was contorted into an evil smile.

"Isn't that cute," he sneered. "You even kiss like a virgin." He brought his face back to her ear.

"I wonder if you taste like one too."

Katie's senses came back to her. She slipped past the tall blonde and out of the barn-like room, almost throwing herself down the steps. By the time her heart had stopped thudding she was at the bottom of the tower. She leaned back against the cold stone walls, trying to slow her breathing. She could still feel where Malfoy had touched her. She brought her own scarred hand to her cheek, trying to wipe away the feeling. But somewhere deep inside her, she knew she didn't want to wipe it off.

Once she had calmed herself, she walked back towards the castle. Before she left, she took a look up to the Owlery. In the arched windows, she saw blond hair and blue eyes peering down at her. She felt the eyes on her the entire way back.


	3. Chapter Three - October 30th

Katie had forgotten that the castle was expecting guests. In fact, if it hadn't been for the buzz that was spreading around the castle, Katie would've forgotten that the Triwizard Tournament was happening all together. She, like the rest of the school, had even forgotten the dragon from the second day, after it was discovered to be a part of Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures lesson for the 6th years and quickly taken off the property by a severely unprepared Filch.

As Katie walked across the castle grounds that afternoon, she peered across the Black lake. She noticed that the water looked still, almost too still. She took off her robe near the bank of the lake and laid it down to sit on. Her now exposed Hufflepuff cardigan underneath rippled in the soft breeze. She reclined back into the wind, feeling her blonde hair floating.

The weather was unseasonably warm, one of the last warm days of that year for sure. Katie closed her eyes and soaked in the sunlight. Her class had finished early and Professor Sprout had let them leave to enjoy some of the warmth. She had mentioned something about not being late for something, but by the time she said it, the fourth years had already left the greenhouse and couldn't hear a word she said.

When she opened her eyes she saw two shoes beside her. She looked up to see the frizzy hair of Hermione Granger. Katie gave her a smile and the Gryffindor sat down beside the Hufflepuff.

"Did you finish the History of Magic essay? Professor Binns said mine was too long." That's how all her conversations with Hermione went. All they talked about was classes. Still, she felt as though she could call Hermione a friend. They talked quietly about their essays until Hermione fell silent.

"So," she started softly. "Have you had class with Professor Moody yet?" She couldn't look at Katie as she said this.

"Yeah, it was strange, he kept going on about the Unforgivable Curses. Threatened to use 'em on a Ravenclaw girl. It was kind of mental." Katie thought back to the class. After he turned Malfoy into a ferret early in the year, she had thought that Moody would be more like Professor Lupin. The news had spread across the castle quickly, how Malfoy had been turned into a ferret and tormented by the professor, after Malfoy had been taunting Potter. Katie had no sympathy, the git deserved it, but she didn't feel sorry for Potter either. Other than saving the world a couple times, he was just a spoiled kid that every professor doted on nonstop. Despite this, she walked out of that Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson feeling scared, and vowed to stay away from the professor.

"Is that all?" Hermione looked up at her, eyes pleading. Katie nodded. Even with their limited interactions, Hermione was acting strange. She went to question her further when the rest of her trio showed up behind her.

"Hermione, um, could we see you?" Harry said. It was a question but he stressed it more as a statement. "Now?" Hermione muttered a small apology to Katie before rushing to get up and follow the boys.

Katie sat alone by the lake. The sky was starting to turn pink as the sun began to set. She thought about Hermione. Why was she acting so strange? What had happened in that class?

***

By the time she' d reached the entrance doors, the sun had faded in the sky. She heaved the heavy wooden doors open and slipped into the castle. The castle crackled with excitement. All around her, students were clustered, chattering excitedly.

"Did you see it?" a first year Gryffindor said. "I heard Dumbledore's bringing it out tonight!"

As she heard this, she saw Cedric's sandy brown hair poke around the corner from the direction of the Grand Staircase. Katie turned to Cedric as he came up to her, asking what all the students were talking about. Before he could answer, a red faced Juliette came bouncing up to them.

"So," she said, looking at Katie more than Cedric. "Did you all hear?"

"Hear? What's going on, Jules?" Katie asked, motioning to all the excited students.

"Justin Finch-Fletchly heard from one of the upper year Hufflepuffs, who heard from a Gryffindor Prefect, who heard from the Slytherin Prefect, who heard from their Head Boy, who heard from Snape–"

"Jules!" Katie interrupted. "Get to the point!"

"Right, sorry," she blushed, looking at Cedric. "Justin heard that they're choosing who gets to compete in the Tournament tonight!" Katie looked at Cedric, while Cedric's eyes got wider.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of competing?" Katie mocked. Cedric shook his head.

"Why shouldn't I? Finally bring some pride for Hufflepuff?" The three students laughed and walked towards their common room. When they arrived, Professor Sprout was hurrying people into their cloaks, hats, and placing them into lines organized by their year.

"Remember," she shouted over the chattering students. "First years in the front when we arrive on the lawn. And stick together!" Katie and Juliette quickly said goodbye to Cedric and rushed into their dormitory. They grabbed their cloaks and hats, before returning hurriedly to the common room and disappearing into a group of fourth years.

***

It was pitch dark as the students arrived on the lawns. The entirety of Hogwarts huddled together, clustered in their individual houses and years. Even Filch and Mrs. Norris stood at the back of the group, waiting for the guests to appear. All the warmth that Katie had soaked in during the day was quickly replaced with the bone chilling cold that had descended on the castle grounds.

The students were beginning to grow impatient. Katie began to wish she had hid in her dormitory. As the thought crossed her mind, she looked up to see a pair of eyes staring back at her, seemingly with the same thought. Malfoy nodded back towards the castle, but Katie quickly diverted her eyes. The boy began moving to the back of the group of Slytherin students. He wrapped his cloak over the green in his robes and snuck into the group of Hufflepuffs behind the Slytherins. Katie stood transfixed on him as he weaved closer to her.

Before she realized it, he was beside her. She felt a cold hand wrap around her small, warm one, daring her to follow him. Just like the other times, her brain froze under his touch.

"Come on, Coventry," he whispered, his breath hot against her cold skin. "I can tell you don't care about this, I've got something better in mind."

He pulled her towards the back of the Hufflepuffs. There was a small empty strip of grass between them and the Entrance doors. Filch was mesmerized as the Beauxbatons carriage flew across the sky, he didn't even notice the two students sneaking back into the castle.


	4. Chapter Four - October 30th

~TW: sort of dub-con, please don't read this chapter of you're not comfortable with that <3~

Katie's mind raced as they rushed through the halls. They rounded past the Great Hall and down the steps to the dungeons. As they ran, they kept close to the walls, in case any of the ghosts were still lurking around. What was she doing? Why did she go with him? Every time he touched her, her mind went blank. Every time he let her go, she was filled with hate. She still had time to turn back, run back up the stairs and sneak back into the other students outside. She started to slow her pace, undecided about going further.

"Come on, Coventry," Malfoy said, squeezing her hand harder. "There's something I want to do." A devilish look flashed across his face. Katie swallowed hard but continued to follow, curiosity getting the best of her. Was it going to be the same as last time, a kiss followed by a taunt? Or did he have something worse in mind.

She felt her stomach dropping as they went past the Hufflepuff common room and continued down into the colder dungeons. The warm yellow light that lit the Hufflepuff corridor was soon replaced by a ghostly green light. They were close to the Slytherin common room. Fear clutched her chest. What was she doing?

Malfoy let go of her wrist as they reached the door. He whispered a password and the door swung open. With a tug, he shoved Katie into the common room, before following and shutting the door. As she took in the dark green room, Malfoy walked around her towards the dormitory stairs.

"What did you want to show me, Malfoy?" The words came out shakier then she had intended. Malfoy had noticed. He liked the effect he had on her. It made him feel powerful. Not how he felt in every other part of his life.

"Come here," he instructed. Katie almost jumped at the sternness in his voice. She slowly walked over to the bottom of the stairs. The blond Slytherin touched her cheek with a smirk. He watched as she subconsciously leaned into his touch, her eyes flickering closed. He trailed his thumb down to her lips. Her soft, pink lips.

Katie opened her eyes as his thumb lingered on her bottom lip. His eyes were trained on her lips, she watched as his tongue darted across his own. What was he thinking?

He was thinking about all the things he'd like to do with her. He took his hand back from the Hufflepuff's sweet, innocent face and turned to go up the stairs. He could hear her following. He turned around to catch a glimpse of her; he watched as her soft features melted at his touch, her voice failed, her legs trembled every time they were in the same room. If only she knew the effect she was having on him. He hated the innocence that came with those gold coloured robes. Hufflepuffs were too happy, too carefree. He loved to watch the girls squirm under him. He loved taking that innocence away.

They reached the top of the stairs and pushed into a room. It was cold with dark wood furnishings and green fabrics. The large window in the room looked into what appeared to be the Black Lake, as the only light was a faint blue light rippled across the floor. Katie shivered; this was nothing like the Hufflepuff dormitory.

"My father paid to give me a single room," Malfoy announced, looking slightly annoyed. "He said all the Malfoys have lived in this room." Katie looked around, realizing there was only one bed in the room. She had never had her own room, even at the MacMillan's she shared with Jack. She felt the familiar hate for the spoiled little rich boy creep back in.

"I'll bet you loved that," Katie mocked, crossing to sit down in one of the black leather armchairs close to the window.

"I'm not as awful as you think I am, Coventry."

He walked across the room and stood over her, placing his hands on either arm of the chair. Katie sank back further into the chair. She could smell his intoxicating scent, cologne and apples. The blond lowered his head until their faces were centimetres apart. Katie wasn't sure what came over her, but she felt a sudden desire to kiss the boy, harder than she had before. She leaned upwards, trying to meet his lips. He snickered at the desperate blonde under him and pulled away. Malfoy went and sat on his large four poster bed, motioning for her to follow. Why did he want her on his bed? And why was the thought of it making her feel something?

She got up slowly from the chair. As she walked to the bed, she saw him loosening the emerald tie around his neck. She sat on the green fabric of the bed. It was the softest material she had ever felt in her life, and the most expensive she assumed, but it still felt hard and cold. Just like Malfoy.

"What did you want to show me, Malfoy." She wasn't coming across as calm as she hoped. The Slytherin could see the fear in her eyes. It emboldened him. He wanted to see that fear grow across her whole face.

Katie felt two heavy hands push her down onto the mattress. She wrestled back but the arms found her wrists and seized them tightly. Malfoy pulled her until she was lying flat on the bed, arms above her head. He took both wrists in one large hand and took his tie completely off his neck. He wrapped it around one of her wrists and tied to the post of his bed. He waved his wand over it and it tightened. Katie struggled against the binding but couldn't squirm free. The spell must've made it impossible to break out.

His hands went to her neck. She braced, expecting him to hurt her. To her surprise, he loosened her own gold tie and repeated the motion with her other arm on the opposite side of the bed. He hovered over top of her face, drinking in the fear he caused to emerge on it. It intoxicated the Slytherin boy. He wanted more.

Katie tried to move her arms but she was completely immobilized. She watched frozen as the blond climbed off her and stood at the foot of the bed. He slowly dropped his robes, leaving him in his school dress shirt and pants. Her eyes trailed down his chest, she could see the faint outline of muscles under the shirt.

For the first time since she stepped through the dark wood door into the Slytherin common room, Katie was truly terrified. As they had entered the room, she was scared, but she remained in control. Now, she couldn't move. Yet, for some reason, the throbbing between her legs was making her bold.

He climbed on top of the immobilized Hufflepuff and trailed his cold hand against her chest. The tip of his finger lightly touched her nipple through her shirt.

"Open your mouth," Malfoy commanded. The sternness in his voice made her jaw drop at once. "That's a good girl." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small potion. Katie's heart thudded loudly.

"Don't worry, love," he cooed, brushing her hair away from her face. "Think of it as a love potion." With that, the boy poured the vial into her mouth and winked.

It felt as though an explosion had gone off in her body. Ever nerve ending was alight with pleasure. She felt her chest lift off the bed, trying to feel more of his hands against her body. The paralysis was gone, she needed to move. To feel him.

"You like that, don't you Coventry?," he whispered, watching her squirm under him. Malfoy picked up his wand from the table beside the bed. With a flick, Katie's robes disappeared, leaving her in her bra and panties. The cold kissed her skin, making goosebumps erupt all over her. In an instant, she felt his hands back on her body, this time one found its way around her neck. He pressed into her skin as his lips came down to meet hers.

He tasted like apples and mint. Katie's body screamed as he put pressure on her neck. A small moan escaped her. She felt a blush creep across her cheeks and prayed he hadn't heard it.

He had. The soft sound hit his ears the way vodka hits the back of your throat; burning and intoxicating. His tongue parted her soft lips as their kiss deepened. He took his hand off her neck and moved it to her tits.

She felt his fingers heavily on the outside of her bra. Her body was on fire; every touch of his cold hands sent a wave of excitement down past her stomach. He reached around her body and skillfully unclasped her bra. Her nipples stiffened to the cold air. His mouth trailed down from her lips towards her exposed chest, leaving painful bites and hickies in his path. Her heart skipped as his tongue circled her nipple. It was sending waves of euphoria throughout her body.

"You like it when I touch your pretty little tits, don't you" His words were whispered in her ear. She felt his hot breath against her. Without her consent, her hips bucked towards him. An evil look crossed his face.

"You're just a desperate little slut, aren't you?" He phrased them as questions, but he knew she couldn't answer. Her insides were doing backflips with desire for the Slytherin. She looked up to meet his eyes; normally, bright, icy blue, they were dark with hunger. His hand dropped to the waistband of her panties. She gasped, pushing her hips against his hand.

"Aw, does the little Hufflepuff want me to touch her? You want me to do this?" He moved his hand lower, pushed her panties to the side and lightly pushed a finger inside her. Another moan escaped her as his finger curled against her G spot. "You like it, don't you? Tell me how much you like my fingers inside you." Without thinking, her brain too focused on the pleasure inside her, Katie answered.

"I love your fingers inside me," she moaned, although it came out half choked as his hand returned and tightened its grip on her neck as she tried to speak. His other hand started moving quickly, sliding in and out of her dripping pussy. Malfoy smirked as she praised him. He always got them to praise him, no matter how much they hated him. He felt her muscles tensing around his fingers, she was close.

"Don't you dare fucking cum." It came out as a growl. Katie clenched and tried to force her orgasm back. She wasn't sure why, but her body was blindly obeying him.  _ It must be an effect of whatever he made me drink _ , she thought to herself. His insulting words only made her wetter. He was still pumping his fingers inside of her with his hand around her neck when she wasn't able to hold it off any longer.

Her body shook as she came all over his fingers. Malfoy scoffed at the desperate Hufflepuff, secretly proud that he'd made another girl cum. He waited until her body had stopped shaking before moving his hand even faster, in and out. The girl let out a half moan-half yelp sort of noise. The feeling was too sensitive inside of her throbbing pussy. She opened her mouth to say stop when his hand slapped her across the face, hard.

"Don't fucking speak," he growled at her. He slapped her cheek again, the area starting to get hot and sore. "And don't fucking cum without permission."

The slaps broke her from her cum-dumb mind. She remembered where she was. Worse than that, she remembered who she was with. The realization hit harder than any of the hits Malfoy had laid on her face.

The Slytherin looked at her, she no longer had fear or desire in her eyes. The bright green eyes were now cast in a cloud of shame. He smiled to himself, he'd broken another Hufflepuff. She wouldn't be waltzing happily around the castle anymore. He quickly took his fingers out of her and got off the bed. He released her ties with a wave of his wand and watched as she curled up on herself, trying to hide from him. She couldn't, he had already gotten what he wanted; he had seen the mix of fear and hunger in her eyes, he had felt her body reacting to him, and he'd watched as it morphed into shame at what he'd made them do. Malfoy took his wand again and flicked it. The Hufflepuff was fully dressed.

She didn't waste another second and scurried out of the room. She raced down the stairs and out of the heavy wooden doors. Her whole body was drenched in shame. As she walked back through the dungeon corridors, she could hear the students returning to the castle above her. She broke into a run, making it up the stairs from the dungeons quickly and slipped back into the growing group of students in the Entrance Hall. One thought hovered at the front of her mind; what the fuck had she just done.


	5. Chapter Five - October 30th & Halloween

"Katie!" Juliette cried out as Katie filed back into the group of Hufflepuffs. "Where did you end up standing? Did you see the ship?" Katie turned red with embarrassment. She pulled her robes up to cover the hickies and bruises on her neck. Could she smell the shame on her? How was she supposed to say she spent the time in the dungeons with Draco Malfoy. The same Draco Malfoy that wished Juliette had died, not even two years ago.

The Hufflepuffs sat down at their table. The visiting students joined tables where they could. Once the students were seated, the teachers filed into the Head Table. Dumbledore gave a small speech that concluded with the Golden plates filling with food. The students ate all the normal foods they found at the feasts, along with some French and Northern delicacies. Just as it had appeared, the food quickly disappeared off the plates. Katie couldn't focus on any of it.

Suddenly, Dumbledore rose and a hush fell over the excited students. He began to launch into a second speech, reminding the students about the competition that would be taking place at the castle that year. Katie began to tune him out. She couldn't care less about the competition, she was too busy worrying about her own problems. Like why Hermione was acting strangely. Or why her brother hadn't written her in nearly four months. Or why she followed Malfoy into the dungeons and let him do that to her body. With a jolt, she remembered what Hermione and her had been talking about. She turned to Juliette.

"D'you know what happened in the Gryffindor Defence Against the Dark Arts class?" she whispered. The colour drained from Juliette's brown cheeks.

"I heard Professor Moody was teaching them about the Unforgivable Curses," her voice was barely audible, like she didn't even want to hear the words herself. "Apparently, he actually  _ used  _ the Unforgivable Curses" Katie's heart dropped. Could a professor do that? Surely, they couldn't torture the students. She rubbed her scarred hand. Maybe they could.

Meanwhile, a wooden goblet had been held up in the centre of the room by Dumbledore. He lit the flame inside. The Goblet of Fire was ignited. The Tournament had begun.

***

Cedric came back to the common room a hero the next day. He had put his name in the Goblet of Fire. As the rest of the Hufflepuffs fawned over the tall brunette, Katie sat by the fire. She peered into the flames. She'd done this many times since the beginning of the term, her thoughts occupied by the disappearance of her brother. This time, however, she was thinking about Malfoy.

Why had he brought her into the dungeons? The first time they kissed, he had been so soft. So why did he touch her like that in his room? Her stomach fluttered thinking back to it, his strong hands holding her down, his hot mouth biting into her, the bruises he left on her skin...

The memory of the night before was so intoxicating she almost didn't feel it when two large hands clamped down on her shoulders from behind the couch.

"Aren't you gonna congratulate me?" She turned to see Cedric beaming at her. "Come on, Katie, at least wish me luck!" He laughed warmly. Katie smiled, forcing the cold dorm room out of her mind. Cedric hopped over the back of the couch and plopped down beside her.

"You're never gonna get picked," Katie playfully taunted. "It's gonna go to a Gryffindor. I'd say Potter if he was old enough," she paused for a second, "still might be him. Dumbledore always breaks the rules for him." Cedric laughed.

"You never know," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I could be the first Hufflepuff champion. I could be the most famous Hufflepuff in Hogwarts history." Hufflepuffs we're always looked down on. What had Malfoy and his friends once said?  _ You're just a Hufflepuff, you're the lowest class of witch.  _ It had been at least a year since he'd said that to her and Juliette as they walked in the hallways. Katie remembered his words with a touch of shame. Why did she ever let him touch her after that? Cedric noticed Katie was being quiet and joined her in peering into the fire.

"You're thinking about Jack, aren't you?" She was startled. She hadn't been thinking about Jack, she was preoccupied with the thought of Malfoy, but now her focus returned to her radio-silent brother. "He hasn't been writing to me either. I've sent owls, nothing." Katie's heart sunk. She had hoped that maybe he was responding to his friends, even though he hadn't been seen or heard from in months.

"It's not like him, Ced." Cedric nodded. "I'm getting worried."

"I'm sure he'll write eventually," Cedric said. "My dad's friends with the Weasleys, I can ask him if they've heard from Charlie. If you want, I don't know." Katie nodded and thanked him for the offer. Cedric got up from the couch and went off towards his dormitory, to write to his father, Katie hoped. Why hadn't she thought of asking the Weasleys?

Wait, she realized, I  _ can _ ask the Weasleys. Four Weasleys still went to Hogwarts. Ron wouldn't be any help, being so far up Potter's ass he probably wouldn't even know if Charlie was in Romania or not. She'd never talked to Ginny before, and didn't think "hey have you seen my missing brother who's supposed to be working with your brother" was a good opening line. That only left—

Her eyes rolled at the thought. The twins. She'd spoken to them once, after they'd charmed one of Hermione's quills to stick to her hand and she had just happened to borrow it. The ink that she spilled trying to get it off was still stained on one of her robes. Still, she resolved herself that they might help her. They weren't heartless, right?

Katie rose from the couch and slipped out the common room door. The hallway was buzzing with the Tournament starting up. She saw Hufflepuffs and Slytherins hanging out in all the dungeon corners. Everyone chattered loudly about the tournament. Katie climbed the stairs towards the Great Hall. She decided she would check there and hopefully find Hermione, she'd be able to find them for her. She walked into the Great Hall, eyes scanning the Gryffindor table. She saw some red hair, but no one tall enough to be one of the twins. Katie tried looking for Hermione but between all the buzzing students and the fact that the Hufflepuff was only 5'2, there was no chance she was going to find the brunette. She was walking sideways, trying to see though the students, when she felt her foot come down on something softer than the hard stone floors. She felt a body slam into her back.

"Watch where you're going," a cold voice dripped from behind her. She felt an arm across her back as shoved out of the way. Katie turned to see Draco Malfoy sneering at her, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson by his sides. "Stupid little Hufflepuff." His cronies giggled. As they pushed around her to get into the Great Hall, she felt Malfoy lower his head to her ear.

"I'll get you back for that later."

It was so quick she thought she had imagined the whisper. None of his friends had reacted to it, it looked like he was just shoving the Hufflepuff again, just like any other Hufflepuff. But when Katie met his eyes, she knew she had heard him. His eyes were dark and hungry, just as they were the night before.

Her stomach dropped. She could feel herself getting nervous at the thought of him. Get her back. How would he do that? Would it be any worse than last night?

She had almost forgotten why she'd come into the Great Hall when Hermione bustled in, carrying several textbooks. Katie followed and sat down with her at a table. They talked quietly for a moment before Katie asked her what she had come over for.

"Hermione," she started, wondering how to phrase it. "It's going to sound truly odd but would you happen to know where Fred and George are?" She felt stupid asking. Hermione gave her a strange look.

"Why?" she asked. The Gryffindor was looking at her like she had asked where to find a brain eating slug. The twins were dangerous, no one went looking for them.

"I– er– wanted their help with something," she stalled, trying to come up with a good reason. Suddenly it hit her. "With a prank!" She blurted it out louder than she had hoped.

"Yea, I wanted to prank Cedric after he put his name in for the tournament. Make him think he got picked. Figured they could help." She was impressed with how fast she was coming up with her story. Hermione even seemed convinced.

"Last I heard they were in the dungeons," she said, looking back down at her books. "Something about an age potion? I'm not sure, but you could check there." Katie thanked her and said a quick goodbye before rushing out of the Great Hall. They were working on a potion, perfect. She could help them and then maybe they'd help her. It was perfect. As she left, she felt a pair of eyes on her. She could only guess who it was, but she was fairly certain it was Malfoy.

***

She found the twins by the smell. It was the smell of a ruined potion. It smelled like burnt hair. She followed the smell up to the door of one of the small broom cupboards. She stilled her heart and knocked. Nothing. She knocked again. Still nothing. She realized they probably thought she was Filch, trying to get them expelled again. She put her hand on the door. Locked.

"Alohomora," she whispered and pulled the door open slightly. In an instant, she felt a wand against her throat. Brown eyes and red hair stood in front of her, threatening her with his wand.

"What do you want," one twin, she wasn't sure which, said.

"Heard you were making an age potion, thought I could help," she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"And why would you do that?" the other twin said, stirring a small cauldron on the floor of the cupboard.

"Because I'm gifted at potions. Even Snape can't find anything wrong with them," she said. She looked at the two taller boys and decided to take a risk. "Besides, I thought if I helped you, you'd help me." The twins didn't ask questions as they brought the small Hufflepuff into the closet. In the light of Fred's, at least she thought he was Fred, wand, she could see a thick, bubbling potion. She knew how to make the potion they wanted, but she'd never actually made it, much less fixed it. She waved her wand over the cauldron and began to add newt spleens and bananas. She hoped they just hadn't added enough.

"What do you guys plan to use this for?" she asked as she stirred the potion, it was starting to return to the blue colour it was supposed to have.

"Dumbledore's age line," one said with a grin.

"We're 17 this year anyways, why not age ourselves up a few months to compete in the tournament?" They acted as though they had a fool-proof plan. Katie scoffed. There was no way the age line was going to be fooled by the potion, but she still worked at brewing it.

After what felt like hours, she had fixed it. It had the consistency of water and was finally a sapphire blue colour.

"There," she said, sitting back from the cauldron and wiping the sweat from her brow. Sitting over top of the flame had been hot. "It's ready." The twins beamed. George produced a small mouse from his pocket.

"Found this little guy in the Great Hall," he said holding the mouse firmly. "Thought he'd be a good lab rat." They laughed at the terrible pun. Katie held her breath and they fed the little mouse a drop of her potion. In front of her eyes, the mouse grew a tiny, white beard. It had worked. The twins celebrated as Katie breathed a sigh of relief.

"A deal's a deal," Fred said once they'd calmed down. "What'd you want?"

"My brother," Katie started. The twins nodded, they'd known Jack as well, though they had never been friends. "He's not answering anyone's owls. I haven't heard from him since he left. I just wanna know that he's alright. I thought that since he was in Romania with your brother that you–" She stopped. The twins gave her a confused look.

"Charlie isn't working with Jack in Romania," George answered, slowly. "Charlie's been back in London with the Ministry, working on something for the tournament he said. Couldn't say more than that mind you."

Katie's heart stopped. She could hear the twins asking if she was alright, but they sounded far away, almost like they were underwater. She felt dizzy. Jack wasn't with Charlie. Jack could be in trouble. Where was Jack?

"I– I'm fine," she said. Her vision was blurry but she managed to stand and get to the door of the closet. "I–have to– to go." Her only family in the world was missing. She was already an orphan, but she had always had Jack. What if he was already dead? She stumbled. Two pairs of strong arms caught her. She saw them walking her out of the closet, but she couldn't feel it. All she could feel was the dread settling in her stomach.

The twins carried her towards the Hufflepuff common room. They waited outside, as Katie was unable to tell them the password. She couldn't remember. She couldn't think about anything but Jack.

"Katie!" a voice called. She felt the twins hands being replaced with other ones. She managed to move her head up to see Cedric looking at her, a scared look in his eyes. He thanked the twins and helped Katie through the door to the common room. They sat in silence on the couch by the fire for what felt like hours.

"It's bad, Ced," she finally whispered. Cedric quickly turned to face the small sound, as if he could see it in the air.

"What?" He searched her face for a shred of information. "What's bad?"

"Jack's not with Charlie," she started. She could feel tears welling in her eyes. "He's missing, Ced."


	6. Chapter Six - Halloween

It wasn't until much later that night that Katie regained her senses. She had laid in her dormitory for hours, worrying about Jack. Where was he? She had managed to convince herself that he was laying somewhere, completely dead. She wondered what she was going to do when he didn't meet her at King's Cross at Christmas to take her to Romania to be with him for the holidays, as they had planned. Would she have to go back to the MacMillans? Would she have to stay at Hogwarts? She couldn't find the energy to get out of bed.

After much convincing from Juliette and Cedric, Katie made it to the Halloween feast. She slumped into the Hufflepuff table and buried her head in her arms. She was too stressed for this. Everyone in the Great Hall was waiting excitedly for Dumbledore to announce who the Triwizard Champions were going to be. Even Cedric was excited, though Katie could see that he was worried about Jack too. The night wore on until it reached a peak. Everyone was so excited anticipating the announcement that Dumbledore didn't even need to stand to get the Hall's attention. Katie remained buried in her arms.

The two visiting schools had their champions chosen; a girl named Fleur for Beauxbatons and a boy named Viktor from Durmstrang. Katie wasn't listening, even when Juliette told her that he was a Quidditch champion for the Bulgarian National team. She was lost in her own mind. One thing managed to snap her out.

"Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore announced. The Hufflepuff table went wild. People came from all around her to pat Cedric on the back. Katie turned to him; he sat there beaming as everyone came to congratulate him. She offered him a quiet congrats as he stood and walked towards the champion's chamber behind the teacher's table. Just as Dumbledore began to give his closing speech, the hall fell silent again. Another name came out of the Goblet.

"Harry Potter."

Of course it was. Katie almost laughed at how predictable it was, every year, without fail, something like that would happen with Famous Harry Potter. Despite this, the Hall remained quiet as Harry was taken out.

When they were finally allowed to return to their common rooms, Katie left with the other Hufflepuffs. Not having Cedric at her side this time was daunting, and she felt herself tripping every couple of steps. Her head swam in her thoughts. The walls began to close in. All she could see was her brother laying lifeless on the ground somewhere, a look of terror plastered onto his face. She broke away from the group of Hufflepuffs and walked to the Entrance Hall doors. Katie slipped silently out into the night.

The cool October wind kissed her cheeks and made the spot that Malfoy hit tingle. She remembered that with a shudder. The open field was helping however, and she didn't feel like she was swimming anymore. Katie took a deep breath. She couldn't see her brother's dead eyes anymore.

She walked across the dark lawns. She could see a house sized carriage parked near Hagrid's hut, and a ghostly ship in the lake.  _ Must be the other schools _ , she thought. She walked down to the water's edge, and peered at her reflection. Her and Jack had the same green eyes. The same lifeless green eyes. Her head started to swirl again. She forced herself to be steady.

Katie gazed at the horizon. In the faint moonlight, she could see owls swooping against the backdrop of the stars. She wished she were up there. If she were an owl, she could go find Jack. As she looked, one barn owl caught her eye. Eloise.

The owl swooped down and landed next to her on the grass. Tied to her little foot was a single piece of parchment, folded so small she wasn't sure if she would be able to unfold it without ripping it. She tore the note from the owl and gave her a small pat, before Eloise took off for the Owlery. Katie clutched the note in her hand. It was too small to be from the Ministry saying that Jack was dead. It could be from Jack. It could be from someone who killed Jack. The thoughts clouded her mind. Her fingers trembled as she tried to carefully unfold the note. As she flipped the final fold, she stopped breathing.

_ Astronomy Tower. Midnight. Halloween. Come alone. J. _

***

She reached the top of the tower almost at midnight. After slipping back into the castle and finding her way to the Hufflepuff common room, she struggled towards her dormitory, a note firmly clenched in her fist. The entire house was gathered in the common room, celebrating that for once, Hufflepuff was going to be famous. It was the happiest she'd ever seen them, and they were supposed to be the happiest house.

She sat in her dormitory, waiting for midnight. She tried not to let her mind wander too much. She was going to see Jack and everything was going to be alright. She repeated that over and over in her mind until it felt true.

Finally, at quarter to midnight, she pulled her robes on and snuck out of the dormitory. There were still a couple partying Hufflepuffs by the fire, but Katie managed to slip out undetected. She wove through the school like one of the ghosts, almost invisible as she went. She couldn't feel her legs as she climbed the tall tower. Once she reached the top, she looked out across the campus. It was calm and still.

Suddenly, she saw something on the horizon. A small dot. The dot seemed to be getting bigger, coming towards her. By the time she recognized what it was, it was close enough for her to touch. Jack flew up to the tower on his broom and landed quietly beside her. The siblings hugged on the Astronomy tower. Katie resolved that she was never letting go.

But she did let go. Only to hit him repeatedly.

"Why... didn't... you... write to me!" she managed between hits. Jack just smiled, his wavy brown hair floating in the wind. After a couple minutes, Katie calmed down and they sat on the floor of the tower, in silence. It was a happy silence. Jack was the first to break it.

"I'm sorry," he started, his green eyes mirroring Katie's. "I'm sorry I didn't write.

"You could've at least told me you were okay! You knew I was worried!"

"It wasn't safe to reach out before. Romania–"

"Bullshit, Jack!" Katie interrupted. "I know you weren't in Romania so stop it and tell me the truth!" Jack sat stunned. He looked away for a second before taking a deep breath.

"It started last year while I was still at Hogwarts," he began. "I was in the library and by accident I found a Defence Against Dark Arts book that our mother had checked out when she was a student. It was nice at first, made me feel closer to her, you know what I mean?" Katie nodded, urging him to continue.

"I was reading through it and I saw something scribbled in the margins. I thought maybe it wasn't what I thought. But every way I looked at it... It was a Dark Mark, Katie."

"So? I'm sure hundreds of people checked out that book. Some nasty Slytherin probably did it. One of the Malfoys, I'll bet."

"I thought the same," he continued. "And I forgot about the book. It wasn't until I was in Romania–" Katie looked to say something but was immediately stopped by Jack.

"Yes, I actually  _ was _ in Romania for a short while. We had found a village that had been destroyed by some Norwegian Ridgebacks and were trying to track them down. I don't know if it was luck or if it was fate, or what it was but I saw it again. The same little drawing of a Dark Mark. It was on one of the walls inside a house that hadn't been burned too badly."

"So what? What did two little drawings, that are probably 20 years old, do to you that meant you couldn't write to me!" Katie screamed at her brother.

"Katie what aren't you understanding! It was our mother who wrote them! She was drawing the Dark Mark everywhere she went!" The words fell into the space between them, almost visible to their eyes. Katie shook her head.

"No way," she started. "You don't have any proof, that could've been anyone."

"The Ministry opened an investigation. They wanted to make sure that it was from the war and not recent. They had believed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's power never reached Romania so it was strange to find it there. They found it was recent. Only about 10 years old." Jack stopped. He looked as though he didn't know how to continue.

"They tracked the wand that conjured it. It was supposed to have been broken years ago, when our parents had died in that muggle-born attack." Katie remembered the story well. A family of muggles. A gifted child. A last effort to save them. An attack on the house by Death Eaters, killing everyone inside. Had they known there were pure-bloods inside, maybe they wouldn't have destroyed the entire house, burning it to ashes. The bodies they found were mangled beyond recognition. The muggles had been the first to die while their parents cast counter curses. They failed, and died alongside them.

"It was Mum's wand, Katie," Jack said, unable to meet her eyes. Katie felt as she had when she learned that Jack was not truly working with Charlie in Romania. Her mother? Mary Coventry, conjuring the dark mark? She couldn't believe it. Jack continued.

"Ministry said her wand must've been stolen. Death Eater's were known to do that, steal wands from muggle-borns that is. Said they probably picked up hers and didn't even know it was a pure-blood's. They said a lot of You-Know-Who's supporters fled east after Harry Potter defeated him. I accepted it. Charlie told me not to question it, he'd found tons of dark marks. It didn't sit right with me. Katie, why do you think it is that they never let us see the bodies? Why were we not allowed back into our childhood home? You were too young, but I remember them. I remember Mum leaving and not coming back until late at night. I remember Dad hiding us away from the windows when Ministry members would come looking for Death Eaters. The Ministry wouldn't let us near our home, Katie! They shipped us off with the MacMillans and let them figure out how to explain it to us!" He had gotten up and was pacing around the tower now, moving with anger.

"I came home from Romania that day, I was going to come see you, to tell you everything. But I stopped. I never went back to the MacMillans. I went to 9 Queen Street. I saw our house, no one living there still. I remembered there was a window I could climb in and out of as a kid so I found a way into the–"

"So you broke into a house?" Katie said, cutting him off. Jack kept going, ignoring her.

"It wasn't anyone's house. It was our house. The Ministry owned it. When I got back to London, I looked it up. The Ministry owns the house, only its listed as a known Death Eater's residence and heavily cursed. Too cursed for muggles to live there. Explains the welcome I got. Aurors everywhere, trying to arrest me! Told 'em who I was and they let me go. They still believed our parents were on the Order's side in the war. Didn't even know it was our house! They said they were going to update the records to get rid of the 'Death Eater's Residence' thing. Bollocks. It was a Death Eater's residence alright."

"But you said we lived there!" Katie laughed. "Are you saying that  _ we're _ Death Eaters?" She giggled at the thought. A family of Hufflepuffs, working for You-Know-Who. It was unheard of. Of course there were a bunch of Slytherins who went bad, handful of Gryffindors. Even a Ravenclaw or two went bad, wanting to include the good and the bad in their endless search to understand the world. But never a Hufflepuff. Let alone a whole family.

"Our parents were Death Eaters," he said it quietly, like it hurt coming out. "I searched the house and found thousands of Dark Marks on the walls. All kinds of cursed stuff in the basement. It was a Death Eater's residence. D'you remember that old book Mum used to write in?" She did. It was red with a gold binding along the spine. She could faintly remember her mother sitting in a chair, writing in the small book while her and Jack played on the carpet. It was one of her only memories of them, since she had only been one when they died.

"I found it, Katie," from the pocket of his robes, he produced the small red book. It was faded now, but it was definitely the same book. Katie took it from Jack's hands. She turned it over. She felt closer to her mother, holding the book she held. "Open it." The command came from Jack behind her. She flipped the book open and it fell to one page. Her eyes scanned the yellowed paper. Dark Marks, scribbled everywhere. Things like "I serve the Dark Lord" written across whole pages. Lists of names and places, all known places that had been attacked. It was the ramblings of a mad woman.

"I don't know how the Ministry missed it. It was right there where she left it in their bedroom," Jack explained. But Katie was stunned to silence. Her parents had been Death Eaters.

"So, then," she stuttered, trying to find her voice. "How'd they die? If they weren't there to protect the muggles–" She trailed off.

"They killed them. Slaughtered them in their own homes and burned the place to ashes," Jack muttered under his breath. The words hung in the air between them. "Next thing they knew, Harry Potter had defeated You-Know-Who. They were going to be caught by the Ministry, sent to Azkaban. They faked their deaths. Left bodies with powerful confundus charms on 'em. By the time the Ministry'd cracked it, they were long gone. Ministry assumed they just been destroyed, like Peter Pettigrew, but they were nothing like him. They were traitors!" Katie could see tears welling in Jack's eyes. She felt them welling in her own.

"Jack," she breathed, barely above a whisper. "Are our parents alive?" She hesitated. She didn't really want to know. The people who had created her, given birth to her, whose blood ran through her veins, had murdered innocent people. She felt numb.

"Yes, Katie. Mum and Dad are alive."


	7. Chapter Seven - Halloween

They sat on the tower in a different kind of silence now. It was no longer happy. It had been stained by what they had learned about their parents. The moon was high in the sky now, and it illuminated the tower. On a cloudless night like this, she was surprised no one else was up there looking at the stars. The only things at the top of the tower were two siblings and broken bloodline.

"Why didn't you write, Jack," Katie finally whispered. Her brother took a deep sigh.

"It wasn't safe. Since Queen Street, I think I'm being followed. I don't know if it's the Ministry, but whoever it is, they were very hard to shake. I only managed to get them off me to come here. Figured this was something better said in person." He was right. Your parents being miraculously alive after years of believing they were dead was something you had to say in person. They sat in silence a while longer.

"I've been trying to find them," Jack said, his eyes locked on the sky beyond the tower, as if afraid to meet his sister's eyes. "Haven't got much, just that they're back in the UK. At the Quidditch World Cup last I heard, but they're getting closer. I didn't want them coming for you. Suppose it was stupid though, they'dve known you were at Hogwarts whether I sent an owl or not."

Katie thought back to the Quidditch World Cup. She had gone with the MacMillan family. Ernie and her had caught up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione at one point before the game — Ernie was friends with the boys for whatever reason, but Katie was still happy to see Hermione. At the game, Ernie had explained all of the Irish's plays to her in such detail that she wanted to throw herself off the Astronomy Tower as soon as she got back to Hogwarts. He seemed to forget that they had learned to play together as children. When the trouble after the game started, he had rushed her into the woods behind the campsites. Katie could still remember the muggle's eyes as they were flipped around in the air by the Death Eaters. She remembered looking down from the muggles and meeting one of the Death Eater's eyes. Green. Like her own.

Her heart dropped. She felt like she knew those eyes at the time. She couldn't explain why, or how, but she felt drawn to them. She even told Ernie that she felt like she recognized them. He told her never to say that again. Realization swelled in her chest. She did know those eyes. They were her mother's.

"Jack," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "I saw her. At the Cup, I know it was her." Jack sat silently. He placed his head in his hands and stared down the tower.

"I know," he started, taking a deep breath. "I had almost caught up to them. Found a group of You-Know-Who's old followers who said they were going to crash the game, and I followed 'em that night. Soon as they heard my name they let me in. Never caught up to our parents, mind you, but after the dust had settled and the Mark had been conjured, I heard someone talking about another woman seeing her kid at the game. Said she had lost her nerve, her kids thought she was dead, she still had a good enough reputation that she could go back. It had to be mum." He chewed the next words in his mouth, unsure if he should say them. "She might've stopped, but then, we would've heard from her if she had."

Katie sat dumbfounded. Both Coventry siblings were. Their entire history had been built on lies. Their dead parents had betrayed the Order. Their dead parents were followers of You-Know-Who. Their dead parents were alive.

***

The walk down from the tower was much slower than the run towards it. After telling her he would write again, Jack had sped off. Katie had climbed down the steps alone, her head heavy. She finally collapsed on a window ledge in a dark hallway. She sat with her back against the window.

She looked at her forearms. The blood that ran through the tiny blue veins, once coveted for being pure, felt dirty. She clawed at them slightly. Katie began to claw faster and faster, her nails tearing into her skin. Her eyes blurred as they welled with tears. She wanted the blood out.

A red drop landed on her black school shoes. As it trailed down towards the floor in the dim light, it looked like the blood itself was turning black. She let out a choked laugh. That's exactly how she felt, like her blood was turning black inside her veins. She sat staring at the floor for a few minutes, until she heard footsteps approaching from the darker end of the hallway.

Katie looked up. Dressed in a black suit, she saw him again. His icy hair ruffled from sleep or stress and grey eyes glued to the floor, Malfoy walked down the hallway towards her. This time, he had no effect on her. She didn't feel her breathing hitch, or her heart stop, or any of the other things that kept happening when he was around. She felt nothing.

The Slytherin then noticed the girl sitting on the window. A sly smirk crossed his face. That was exactly what he needed; a distraction. He quickly changed his walk back to the confident stride that everyone was used to seeing. As he got closer, he saw the girl was crying, with blood dripping from her. Worse than that, it was the Coventry girl he had played with the night before. He slowed, not wanting to deal with that. He had enough problems on his own.

The Hufflepuff girl dried her eyes. She knew Malfoy had seen her cry. She didn't care. She didn't even look up as he slowly walked past her.

Malfoy scrunched his nose. How could she not even notice him. Yesterday she was falling at his feet and today she can't even look up. The thought infuriated him. She thought she was better than him. A lowly Hufflepuff, better than him. He turned around and walked right up to the girl, who was now leaning back against the window pane.

Katie looked up to find Malfoy standing right in front of her, with a face she could only describe as trying to be seductive. She laughed to herself.

"Bit late, Coventry," he cooed, towering over her. "Shouldn't you be in your soft, little common room?" He snickered. Katie shrugged and picked a piece of lint off her robes. He wasn't affecting her like he used to. She felt too disgusted at herself to even think about her stomach fluttering. Malfoy stooped lower to whisper in her ear. "Or were you out looking for trouble?" It was supposed to be flirty, but Katie just sighed. She wasn't looking for trouble when she went to meet Jack, and yet she found it.

"Fuck off, Malfoy." The words even shocked her a little bit. She'd never been that blunt with him, or with anyone for that matter. The Slytherin backed up from her ear to look in her eyes. She could see that the steely cool grey eyes she was used to seeing, they were somehow warmer, angrier. Malfoy closed them, appearing to struggle to keep calm.

"What," he said, choking the words out at a murmur, "did you just say to me, Coventry?" Katie could tell he was angry now. She had clearly struck a nerve.

"I told you to fuck off," she said, not even bothering to look in his eyes, despite them being only a few inches from her face. "I don't care anymore, Malfoy. Play your stupid games—" She was cut off by Malfoy grabbing her throat and pressing it back against the window pane.

"See, thats what I heard too, but I didn't think you were dumb enough to say that to me. You know I can be..." he trailed off. His eyes were darting across her face, looking for a reaction.

"Rough." The word came out with a smirk, like the word itself was smirking. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Katie felt something. It wasn't the dumb school girl flusters she got before. Now, as his cold hand pressed into her neck, rings digging into her skin, it felt right. This was what she deserved. The blood running through her veins was the blood of traitors. She deserved whatever he was going to do to her. With his face only inches from hers, Katie leaned up and bit Malfoy's bottom lip. Hard.

Malfoy almost backed up, but the pain in his lip fuelled him. He choked the girl harder, feeling her struggle to breathe under his hand. He reached his other hand up and into her hair. He wove his fingers into it and roughly pulled the girl to her feet. She let out a small whimper as her hair tugged against her scalp. He spun them around, with his hand still in her hair, and pushed her towards a door on the opposite side of the hall. He pressed her up against it, biting the back of her neck as he reached for the doorknob. Locked. Frustrated, he grabbed his wand out of his pocket.

" _ Alohomora _ ," he growled at the door. It clicked and he forced them in. Inside was a small classroom. Katie had never been in it before, but Malfoy seemed to know his way. He spun her again, now to face him. His lips came down hard against hers. She went to move her hand to his face, but she was caught by him. He roughly forced her arm behind her back, holding it in place. He took his hand down from her hair to cup her face. She felt his rings painfully again.

Malfoy moved his mouth off her lips and down to her neck. The bites and marks from the previous night were still there, angry and purple. He smirked as he bit the already bruised skin. Katie groaned in pain, but didn't stop him. The pain was good.

The last time he had done this, it was the pain that snapped her to her senses. She hadn't been with another guy before, but she knew she was never one for anything rough. She liked the soft, loving sex that only came when the two people cared about each other. That was before. Now she stood in the dark classroom, letting someone she didn't even really know cause her pain. And she liked it. She deserved it.

Malfoy stepped forward, pushing her into a desk behind her. Keeping her hand firmly held behind her back, he grabbed the other one and placed both in one of his large hands. Her scratched arms stung as they were moved roughly. He felt her trying to move but he held her still. He used his other hand to lift her onto the desk. They were kissing again, tongues moving wildly. He shoved one leg between Katie's, forcing them open. He trailed a long, cold finger up her exposed thigh. Katie shivered. His hand inched closer and closer to her panties. Her breathing hitched as he brushed against her. He felt a wet spot in the soft cotton.

He lightly rubbed against the fabric, earning soft moans from the Hufflepuff. The sound was sweet to his ears, but this time, it felt different. He made more girls moan than he could count, and the sounds always reminded him he was in control. It would make him feel powerful. Girls knees would buckle as they saw him. By the time he got his hands on them, they'd be melting in under his touch. He was desired. But something about the girl beneath him was different. She didn't care that he was touching her. Most girls couldn't take their eyes off him, she couldn't the last time he had done this with her. This time, though, she wasn't paying attention. Her moans came out lazily.

Katie focused on her body. She couldn't let herself think, or else she'd fall back into the numbness that creeped inside. Instead, she let him touch her. The pleasure from his kisses and the pain from his bites occupied her. She got lost in the feelings. As his fingers danced across her panties, trying to tease her, she felt herself getting wet under his touch.

"Tell me you want this," he growled into her ear.

"I want you." Katie moaned breathlessly. She opened her legs wider, trying to get more sensation against her. Malfoy felt anger creeping up his chest. She was using him, he could feel it. No girl had ever treated him like that, they would practically beg him to do this to them. And yet this stupid, little Hufflepuff was using him. He took the challenge, he would make her beg for him.

He pushed her panties to the side and plunged one long finger inside of her. The girl shivered at the contact. His thumb found her clit and started making small circles around it, while his finger curled up against her G-spot. He felt her hips buck towards his hands and smirked.

"You're a fucking slut, Coventry," he taunted. The conflicted looks that would cross girls faced as he insulted them turned him on, when they couldn't tell if they were turned on or offended. Katie's face didn't do that. She had the same hungry look in her eyes as she nodded. He was enraged. She wasn't budging. He started moving his fingers faster, slipping another one inside her. The Hufflepuff's mouth fell open as pleasure coursed through her body. For once, she blissfully forgot all of her problems; her conversation with her brother, Cedric in the tournament, everything. All she could think about was his fingers moving expertly inside her.

Malfoy was the opposite of blissful. She wasn't reacting at all how he was used to, how he wanted her to react. In one night, she had managed to go from an object he had used to a challenge he had to win. He listened to the girl's moans that were slowly growing louder in the small classroom. He pushed her down to lay on her back, letting go of her hands behind her back, and taking his fingers out from inside her. She winced as the raw skin touched the cold desk. He kneeled down, eye level with her pussy. He watched as she squirmed without his touch, desperate for it.

"Aw," he mocked. "Desperate little slut." Her hips bucked, trying to get any sort of stimulation. "Do you want me to touch you?" he asked, his mouth just above her. She nodded furiously. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"Please," she moaned out. "Please touch me." He smirked and slid her panties off her hips, leaving her completely exposed. He hiked up her skirt and placed his hand firmly on either side of her hips, holding her still. His mouth came down on her clit and slowly began kissing and sucking on it. She moaned out, finally getting the contact she wanted. Her body was again plunged into blissful pleasure. Malfoy's tongue was moving around her pussy, sucking and kissing all over. She could feel her insides getting tighter as his tongue made circles around her clit. He felt her hips try to thrust under his hands but he held her still.

Katie's moans filled the room. Her orgasm was building in her stomach, his tongue was too good. She could feel him sliding a finger back inside her while his continued his torture of her clit with his mouth. The combined sensation was too much. She was going to cum.

Then, she remembered what he said last time, before he had slapped her.  _ Don't you dare fucking cum.  _ The growl replayed in her mind. She fought to hold back her orgasm. He could feel her contracting around his finger. He pulled his head away quickly, earning a groan from the blonde girl as her orgasm died.

"Sorry, love," he cooed, standing up and leaning over her face. "I'm not done with you yet." Katie met his eyes to see them hooded with desire. She looked down to see an obvious tent in his black dress pants. She giggled as he pressed it against her. It infuriated him. In one quick motion, he landed a sharp slap on her cheek, again. This time, Katie didn't move. She didn't get up to leave. She brought one hand to her warm cheek, feeling the sting in the shape of his hand. There were indents from his rings. She licked her lips. She deserved this. Worse, she liked it.

Malfoy watched as the girl seemed to get hornier from his hit. It shocked him. Last night, that had sent her running from the room. Now, it made her push herself against his growing hard on. He asked himself what could've possibly happened in one day to change her so much? And why did he like it so much?

He hit her face again. She winced at the pain before opening her eyes and winking at him playfully. It was driving him wild. No girl had ever responded like that. It was always fear— unless you were country pug-face Pansy who was so desperate that she'd let him fuck her with another girl's juices still on his mouth. Katie wasn't afraid. The pain was intoxicating to her. She felt his hand snake under her back before lifting her to flip her. She laid on her stomach on the cold desk, ass in the air. He rolled her skirt up before slapping her ass harder than any of his other hits. She let out a moan. He was drunk on her. He had never felt like this with a girl, he had complete power over her yet she wasn't scared. He spanked her again, earning another moan. It was too much for him. Katie heard the zipper as he undid his pants. She couldn't see, but she felt something warm and hard pressing against her from behind.

"Beg for me, Coventry," he commanded. The Hufflepuff let out a series of soft moans, obeying him. He slid the tip inside her wet pussy. Katie felt like she was tearing as he plunged himself slowly deeper inside of her. Then, without warning, he started to move quickly and roughly. He reached forward to grab her hair again and roughly yanked her up. Her moans were getting closer and louder, as her insides tensed up again. Malfoy bent down to whisper in her ear.

"Are you going to cum?" he cooed in her ear. The girl nodded furiously, pulling against the hand that was still in her hair. "Ask permission first." The words sent a tingle down her body.

"Please, I'm going to cum," she pleaded. He shook his head mockingly.

"Come on, now, that's not how you ask for something," he mocked her.

"Please can I cum?" she asked again, moaning loudly at the end. She was getting very close.

"Ask me again," he said, standing upwards again. He started fucking her harder and faster, his own orgasm starting to build. "Ask me again, and say my name this time."

"Please Malfoy, let me cum." She was begging now, a moaning mess in front of him.

"Say..." he choked out, pulling her hair harder and plunging even deeper into her. "My... Fucking... Name."

"Drac-oh," she moaned out, her orgasm threatening to slip over her. He could feel himself tightening too. His name moaning out of her mouth was the last straw he could feel himself starting to cum.

"Cum for me, Coventry," he moaned out, fully cumming in her now. The girl moaned loudly before cumming herself, her tight pussy pulsing around him. Once they had both caught their breath, he pulled out of her. White cum leaked out and down her leg, dripping onto her panties which were still around her ankles. Malfoy turned to fix himself, and he heard her do the same. As he went to turn back, a pair of soft lips kissed him.

Just as he had caught her off guard in the Owlery, Katie pressed her lips against his. She felt his breathing hitch. With a smirk, Katie pulled back. The Slytherin was flustered. For the first time, Draco Malfoy was flustered. Proud, she turned from him and exited the classroom, flashing a wink as she walked out of the door.

Malfoy stood stunned. No girl had ever made him feel like that. No one had ever stood up to him like that. He hated it and craved it at the same time. She felt like a drug, and he couldn't understand why. How did this little Hufflepuff have this effect on him?

***

In her bed, the numb feeling began to sink back in. Her time with Malfoy had been a nice distraction but the shame was still there. Not because of him, because of her. Because of who she was made from. She tried to get the thought out of her head. Katie rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head. She knew she had to see him again. She had to feel like that again. The pain he caused her made her forget about who she was, and the pleasure swept her away from her problems. She needed him to make her feel like that again. With a sigh, she made the realization.

She was addicted.


	8. Chapter Eight - November 1rst

"My dear, I sense there is a darkness inside of you." Trelawney's voice whispered across the classroom at Potter. "The thing you are dreading may happen sooner than you think."

Katie rolled her eyes. Professor Trelwaney was obsessed with him, every year coming up with new predictions about his death. It made Katie laugh. There was no way that Trelawney wasn't a fake. If she could really "see all", she must've seen how dark Katie's family tree really was. She would've made a whole day of it. ' _ Oh no, poor girl, your family is a bunch of murderers... and you will be too! _ ' She could practically hear the drawn out voice whispering it to her. She was convinced Trelawney didn't see anything. Still, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, two Gryffindor girls, sat wrapped in her every word. It was depressing, they were so gullible.

Katie tried to pay attention to the lesson. Divination had been her favourite class in third year. Trelawney had told her that, if she worked hard and focused, she could have the Sight too. It felt like a load of horseshit now. She wasn't even sure if the Sight was real. How could no one have  _ seen  _ what was coursing through her veins?

"Miss Coventry," Trelawney said, making Katie focus on the class again. "When is your birthday?" It was an odd question.

"December 16, Professor, why?" Trelawney looked around, building up tension. She was always building up tension.

"Yes, yes, as I thought," she murmured. Katie tried to stifle her laughter. What was she going to say now? ' _ Oh you're born in the winter! I predict you'll always be cold! _ ' It was laughable. "Born under Saturn. Tragedy so young..." She seemed to be talking to herself more than anyone else. Katie slouched back in her chair, waiting for Trelawney to go back to her lesson.

"My dear," Trelawney said, whirling around to face Katie again. "I worry that you may be in danger. My girl, is there something troubling you? You just received bad news, yes? About a loved one, no less?" Katie sat silent, jaw slack. "Yes, just as I expected. Very bad planets indeed." And she went back to her lesson.

Katie was stunned. Trelawney couldn't have known about her brother coming to the school. No one had seen him, she was sure. Katie's hands had begun to sweat in her robe pockets. Had someone seen him? Was there someone walking about the castle who knew that deep down, Katie's very blood was bad?

The bell signalling the end of the period rang. Katie stayed in her chair. She was determined to ask Trelawney what she meant. She waited until all the other students had left, urging Juliette to leave without her, and approached Trelawney.

"Professor," she started. But Trelawney didn't look up from the crystal ball on her desk. Instead they motioned for the girl to sit opposite to her. Katie complied.

"Miss Coventry," she said, her misty voice almost soothing Katie. "I believe that I have something to tell you. You see, I Saw something yesterday, very faint, yes, but still Seen." Katie's breath hitched. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to hear what she was going to say. Trelawney rose and began to walk around the room, occasionally stopping to peer into a crystal ball or read an empty mug.

"Professor, I don't know what you mean," Katie began, following the Professor around the room with her eyes. Professor Trelawney seemed to be murmuring under her breath.

"My girl, I have Seen the news you received last night." Katie looked down, ashamed to meet her giant eyes. She knew. She knew about her blood, about her family, everything. "But that is not all." Professor Trelawney returned to the table. "Miss Coventry, I have seen danger in your future. There will come a night, a choice must be made, a choice that will change you forever. You can go to the light or live in the dark. You must decide."

And with that Trelawney retreated back behind the fireplace in the classroom and out of sight. Katie sat in the leather armchair, feeling defeated. Trelawney knew. More than that, she had basically said that there would come a time when she would have to pick between the light and the Dark Lord. Katie's stomach churned at the thought. She hurriedly left the classroom.

***

The Slytherin boy paced around his dark bedroom, the dark wood floors creaking under his weight. On the desk against one wall sat a simple piece of parchment, seemingly empty, yet the boy refused to look at it. He raked his slender fingers through his cool, blonde hair and took a deep breath. He mustered his strength and approached the paper. Holding his wand to it, a silvery light appeared at the tip and spread across the parchment, illuminating large, bold, silver writing; his father's.

_ Find the Coventry girl. The Dark Lord requests it. _

The task loomed before him. He had found the Coventry girl. He found her on the very first day. When the family owl had dropped the letter before him in the Great Hall that morning, he had almost laughed. It would be the easiest task he'd gotten from his father yet. Beneath, in smaller writing, he saw another note.

_ Draco, _

_ You must get to her first. The Coventry girl would change everything. Befriend her. Bring her to our side. She could save you, Draco. _

His mother. Her small, dainty writing was the one that scared him, more than the dark bold strokes of his father.  _ She could save you. _ The words struck ice into his blood. He wanted to be saved. He needed to be saved.

His mother had approached him that summer, told him that the family would soon be back under the Dark Lord. His father was adamant about that. But it wasn't that that scared him. The Dark Lord had the right idea; rid the world of the filthy mudbloods. It would be better for everyone.

It wasn't until his mother told him that the Dark Lord would be watching him, specifically. He peered into her blue eyes as she told him how he would need to complete tasks for the Dark Lord, to kill and lie and steal for him. Draco would have to give up all he loved, and pledge himself fully to him. And if he should fail...

He couldn't think about that. Now, he had a hope. If he could get that stupid little Hufflepuff on their side, if he could somehow turn her against her house, her school, her family, he would be free.

_ Except it wasn't really against her family _ , he thought with a smirk. His father had filled him in on who she truly was one night through the fire in his room. The daughter of the Dark Lord's most devoted followers, the only Hufflepuffs to ever join his cause. If only he'd have known that the last time he'd been in this room with her. The pain he could've caused her. He would've broken her completely.

He thought back to last night. The way she taunted him. How she didn't flinch under his touch, no matter how hard. Something had changed with her. Every other Hufflepuff he had tormented left afraid of him. Not once had they come back, never had they come back liking it. He hated her. He hated her because he couldn't control her. She excited him in the way that left a fire in his throat. A mix of anger and lust.

He needed her, in every way. She would save his life by taking his place. And once the Dark Lord was done with her — well, he wouldn't have to worry about that fire anymore.

***

Katie sat in the Hufflepuff common room by the fire after her classes that day. Beside her, Juliette and her pet cat, Juno, sat quietly. Juliette was studying for an upcoming Transfiguration test they had— turning a porcupine into a pin cushion— and was quietly whispering as she tried to transform Juno. Katie was preoccupied. She couldn't even think of studying. The two girls heard the door to the common room open behind them and turned as Cedric's velvety voice filled the room.

"Katie!" he called, hoping over the back of the sofa to sit in between the two girls. Juliette's face turned as red as the fire as he placed a large hand on each of their knees. "Guys, I just got the best news."

"What is it?" Katie said. That's what she needed. Good news. Cedric waited, letting the tension build up.

"Dragons, Katie!" he finally blurted. "The first task, its dragons!" Cedric looked far too happy for what he had just said.

"What?" Katie said in disbelief.

"Potter told me. I know you think he's useless, but he's got my back in this I think Katie. Can't say it'll be the same for him." He reached into his pocket and pulled out several buttons. Katie took one from his large warm hand. On the front, Cedric's smiling face was illuminated in yellow as the button proclaimed him as the Champion. The button then switched to green, with Potter's face and the words "Potter stinks" parading across. Katie let out a laugh and pinned the button to her robe.

"You didn't make these, did you Ced?" she laughed.

"Course not, just passing 'em out." The three Hufflepuffs laughed by the fire, each with yellow buttons on their robes, as Cedric told them how he planned to defeat a dragon. Sitting on the warm common room couch with her two best friends, Katie finally felt normal again. She knew it wouldn't be long before her troubles — her family, Jack, Trelawney,  _ Malfoy _ — would all come flooding back. But at that moment, she was a teenager again.


	9. Chapter Nine - November 24th

The day of the first task had arrived. The castle was buzzing with excitement. Everyone was talking about who they thought would win— or more importantly, who would die. Fred and George had even taken to taking bets on it. Katie had heard from Hermione that they themselves were betting on the dragons.

It had been too busy around the castle for Katie to think much about her family. Cedric had kept her distracted, talking to her every day and every night about how he would win the tournament and be the most famous Hufflepuff. It made her laugh— if the world knew the truth about her family, he'd never be the most famous. But she'd managed to keep those thoughts down, almost enough to become her old self again. At least while people were watching. And it seemed like someone was always watching

Since Halloween, Katie had managed to stay away from Malfoy. Despite feeling drawn to him and how he treated her, she stayed in control of herself. She knew she deserved it, the way he spanked her, hit her,  _ fucked her _ , and yet she stayed away from him. She had to stay away from him. She couldn't let herself become what her blood wanted her to be.

Since that night, though, Malfoy had been trying to talk to her more and more. He'd corner her after potions, try to sneak her down empty halls and in deserted classrooms, once he'd even tried to snog her in the Great Hall, earning some pretty disapproving looks from Pansy. Katie was wondering what had gotten into him, but she managed to stay strong.

Katie sat in her small dormitory, Juliette, Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones huddled around her. The four girls were painting yellow and black stripes on their faces in support of Cedric. Hannah and Juliette were locked in a discussion about which one of them would get to congratulate him first when he won. It made Katie laugh.

"Jules, I love you, but he's mine," Hannah giggled.

"Hannah, him and I are way closer than you two. He's gonna come running up to Katie, like he always does, and then  _ I'm  _ gonna get to see him first." Juliette crossed her arms with a smile.

"He's always running up to Katie," Susan chimed, wiggling her ginger eyebrows. The other three girls erupted into laughter. "Come on Katie, tell us!" Katie laughed sheepishly.

"You guys know it's not like that!" she defended. Of course, they didn't know how much it wasn't like that. They didn't know that a certain blonde Slytherin was the one preoccupying that part of her life. "Ced was friends—"

"—With your brother! Yeah, we know!" Susan giggled. Hannah twirled her long, blonde hair around her finger, doing a bad impression of Katie.

"Oh hi,  _ Ced _ ! What are you doing today,  _ Ced!"  _ This time, all four girls erupted into laughter on the floor. They were laughing so hard they almost didn't hear the knock at the door. The small wooden door slowly pushed open as Ernie and his friend Justin Finch-Fletchly walked through.

"What are you lot on about," Ernie laughed. The girls just giggled. Katie let her eyes wander to Justin. He'd been around the house plenty of times while she had lived with Ernie. She could remember one time when the two of them had tried to barge in the bathroom while she was showering, trying to charm the water colder. Mrs. MacMillan yelled at them for hours for it.

"Well come on," Justin finally said, drawing Katie from her nostalgia. "We'd better run or we're gonna miss it!" The six Hufflepuffs left the dormitory, all dressed and painted in yellow and black, and began to make their way through the castle and out to the task.

Katie and Justin trailed towards the back of the group while Hannah and Juliette ran to the front, each fighting for the first look at Cedric. Justin's face was painted with black stripes under his eyes, much like she had seen in his Muggle baseball cards, and yellow stripes on top to match. It made his hazel eyes look like warm honey.

When they were kids, Katie had a crush on Justin. She'd loved the times Ernie would invite him to stay for Christmas or over the summer. As they'd grown older, it had thankfully faded. Now, though, as they walked down the path through the trees, she was reminded of why she felt like that in the first place.

"Hey, Kates," Justin said, turning to face her. One hand rubbed the back on his neck beneath his yellow and black scarf. "You do think Cedric's gonna win this, right?"

"Of course," she answered, looking back at the path in front of her, a large stadium looming into view. "He's got to." Justin had slowed a little behind her without Katie noticing.

"Katie," Justin said, reaching out to grab her arm. Katie spun around to face him. She looked up at his warm eyes, framed by dark eyelashes that matched his hair. She saw something flash across them. He looked down to her lips and leaned slightly closer, breathing heavily. "Katie, I, er, I wanted to, uh, well, I—"

"Oi, mudblood!"

Justin was interrupted. He stepped quickly back from Katie as they both spun to look behind them, towards the castle. Dressed all in black, a tall lanky figure was striding towards him, classic smirk plastered on his face.

Malfoy.

"That was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen." Malfoy slowed as he approached the two Hufflepuffs. Katie's blood ran cold as his cold eyes pierced her. They were so different from Justin's warm ones.

"Leave us alone, Malfoy," Justin said, his voice faltering. It made Malfoy smirk even harder.

" _ I, um, er, uh, Katie, um, well,"  _ Malfoy mocked. Her let out a deep laugh. "What? Were you going to kiss her? Hmm? Mudblood kissing the orphan? That's the saddest thing I've ever seen." Malfoy continued laughing.

"So what if I was, Malfoy," Justin said, more confident than before. He stood taller and placed himself between Katie and Malfoy. Katie smiled to herself. It was sweet; he was trying to protect her. If only he knew.

"So you  _ were _ trying to kiss her." Malfoy's face turned dark. An evil smirk spread across his face as he looked past Justin at Katie. "It's alright with me, I just wanted to show you how she likes it."

With that, Malfoy shoved past Justin and took Katie in his arms. In a millisecond he had one hand wrapped around her throat, one pressing her waist firmly into him, and his lips hungrily placed on hers. Katie stood frozen as Malfoy kissed her deeply. She loved the way he made her feel; dirty, like the blood coursing inside her. She could feel her panties starting to get wetter at the thought of him. Then, as quickly as he had started, he released her. Katie was stunned, again.

"There," he said, turning back to face Justin. "She's a dirty little slut who likes it rough, see? By all means, mudblood, you can have a go at her now, I've had her enough times already." Justin's face broke as the words left Malfoy's mouth. His eyes searched Katie's for any indication that it was a lie, but there wasn't any. Katie looked down at her feet. She could hear Justin push Malfoy away and trudge past them towards the stadium. When she looked up, she thought she would be alone, and yet Malfoy was still standing in front of her.

"What do you want, Malfoy? No one's around! No one to embarrass me in front of here! You can drop it!" she yelled, pointing around to the empty path. Justin's half sad, half disgusted face replayed in her mind.

"Coventry, I wasn't trying to embarrass you," he said, stepping closer to her. Katie stepped backwards, away from his intoxicating smell. "I really did want to show him what you liked." A suggestive smile played across his lips. "And I do know what you like." He had backed her up against a tree. As the cold bark pressed against her back, she felt his warm breath on her face. His eyes were once again hungry as they had been both times before. Katie took a deep breath, vowing not to let him affect her. She needed to stay strong. To not let him make her feel numb again.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy"

"Come on now," he said, his hand reaching up to stroke the short blonde hairs framing her face. "You know you don't mean that. You know you want me right where I am, so close to you." His voice lowered to a whisper. He pressed his body against hers, pinning her to the tree. He forced one of his legs in between hers and let his other hand trail down between her legs. "I could get closer... all you have to do is ask." His fingertips lifted her skirt and played along the edge of her panties. Katie's breathing began to get heavy. She could feel herself respond to his touch. She struggled to keep her mind off how he was making her feel; how good it felt to be dirty, pressed up against a tree along a path where anyone could catch them.

"I," she stuttered. "Malfoy, I, we can't." She managed to choke out the words and his fingers crossed from edge to edge of her panties, touching her clit each time.

"Come on, be a good, little slut for me," he cooed, his voice smooth like chocolate. Katie closed her eyes as he unraveled her Hufflepuff scarf and his warm mouth came down on her neck, biting and sucking. She could feel his telltale purple marks forming. Small moans began escaping her mouth. He smirked against her neck. "See, that's what I like." He placed another kiss on her lips. "Come on, I'm not done with you yet." He leaned off her and grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her away from the stadium and towards the castle. Behind her, she could hear the crowds roaring and the loud whoosh of dragon wings.

Malfoy led her back into the castle and to a small broom closet off of the Entrance Hall. He slammed the door closed behind them and pressed her up against it. His mouth descended on hers in a deep kiss. Katie felt the familiar numbness spreading across her body. She no longer fought it, but bathed in it. She was the daughter of Death Eaters. All that she deserved was to be roughly fucked in a broom closet.

His hands roughly found their way to her waist and pinned her hips firmly against the wooden door. She let her instincts take over. Her small hand reached up and tangled in his icy hair as his lips lowered to her neck again, this time placing marks on her collarbones.

Katie shivered as he bit her soft skin, small gasps leaving her mouth. He pushed her robes off her shoulders and began unbuttoning the rest of her shirt. Katie let her hands travel to his shoulders and pulled his green robe off, feeling it slip off her fingers and pile on the floor by their feet. Malfoy's lips trailed back up to her mouth, biting on hers. Finishing with the buttons, he let her blouse slip off her. Their warm, heavy breathing in the small broom closet hit her skin comfortably. This was different than every other time. She had always felt cold when Malfoy was with her. Her thoughts about his warmth were quickly extinguished as his hand came up to her neck and choked her against the wooden door.

"Shh," he hissed. "Darling, I love your moans, but Filch'll hear us if you don't shut your slutty fucking mouth." There. The feeling she craved. His harsh words set her body on fire. As he released her throat, Malfoy spun her so his back was against the door, and pushed her to her knees, bringing her eyes level with the growing tent in his dress pants. Katie's hands found their way to his belt and began unbuckling it. She undid the button and slowly pulled the zipper, earning a growl to "go faster". She let his pants drop to the ground, and placed her hand against the imprint in his boxers. She trailed along its length and looked up as the boy threw his head back. She brought her face towards it and kissed her way from the base to the top. One of Malfoy's hands flew down and gripped the back of her head while the other freed himself from his boxers.

She hadn't seen him on Halloween, so as he bounced free, her jaw dropped. He had felt big, but not this big. His shaft hung loftily in front of her. Malfoy looked down at the small Hufflepuff, who was gazing wantingly at his cock. He smirked— they always did this when they first saw it. He used his free hand to give her a quick slap across her cheek, shaking her from her stupor.

"Well," he said. "Aren't you going to do something? Or do you just want to keep staring at it?" Katie reached up and grabbed his hard shaft, slowly bringing her hand up and down. Malfoy held back a laugh. Where was the girl from Halloween, the one with passion? The one who wanted to fuck him so bad she'd let him do anything to her. This girl was shy, scared, like she didn't know what she was doing. Like a virgin. Taking matters into his own hands, he grabbed Katie by the chin and forced her mouth open. Before she had time to close it, he plunged himself into her mouth and down to her throat. Katie gagged, forcing him to pull out halfway, before going back down. He tangled both hands into her hair and began to move her head up and down his wet cock.

Katie's mind went blank, a numb, dirty feeling spreading over her. Between that and fighting to breathe around his huge cock in her throat, Katie couldn't think about anything else. Finally, her mind was silent. She let Malfoy use her head until he suddenly stopped. He pulled himself out of her mouth and looked down at her. Her face was covered in spit and tears leaked from her eyes. Malfoy smirked. Found her.

He pulled Katie up by her hair and spun her back against the door. She shuddered as she hit the wood hard.

"Off," he growled, sticking a finger in the waistband of her panties. Katie quickly struggled to take them off. They dropped to the floor with all their other clothes. His hands grabbed at her ass, lifting her. She jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist as he pushed her up against the door. Without warning, he plunged his cock into her. Pain seared into her. He felt bigger this time, but she was probably just imagining it. She could feel him throbbing as he slammed into her over and over again, causing her to bounce against the door. The hinges squeaked with every thrust.

Then, as quickly as he had started, Malfoy came inside her with a loud moan. She felt as she filled up with cum. When he was done, he dropped her to the ground and turned around to clean himself up. Katie looked around, shocked and disappointed. Last time, he had made her cum so hard she almost forgot her own name. Now, nothing?

"Disappointed, Coventry?" Malfoy cooed, having turned around and seen the look on her face. "You didn't really think I was going to make you cum did you?" She shook her head softly as the bad feelings began to flood back in. She was stupid for assuming he would. She'd had sex loads of times without cumming, why did she think he'd be any different.

"I have a rule, see," he continued, now filled clothed and straightening his tie while Katie stood mostly naked. "I only make girls cum once. Drives them crazy. You got lucky on Halloween, I was feeling generous. Only way to get me to do it again is to make me fall in love with you, but that's never going to happen." Katie looked at him, her eyes wide. Like an addict, any possibility of getting another hit of his drug set a fire in her veins. Malfoy laughed.

"Did you really think I was serious?" he mocked between laughs. "No, I never make girls cum twice. End of story." Katie let her eyes fall back to the ground, feeling stupid. His cum trickled out of her like the shame inside her. She bent down and began to put her clothes back on. Since she was in front of the door, Malfoy stood back and watched.

Her small, lithe waist twisted as she moved, making her breasts jiggle.When she turned around to pick up her panties, her perky ass bounced right in front of him. Her body  _ was  _ beautiful, there was no denying that, but it wasn't until her sad, green eyes turned to meet his that his heart stopped. He had never really looked into them before, always focusing somewhere else. In reality, he never deeply looked into anyone's eyes, because if he could see theirs, they could see his. But now, as her emerald eyes stood before him, he watched as pain and suffering swam around them. He recognized that pain. His own eyes looked the very same. As soon as the moment started, it was over and Katie was pulling on her robes, fully dressed. Draco, having lost himself for a second, stood up and regained his composure. He reminded himself why he was there.

"Coventry," he cooed, grabbing her arm. Katie felt herself lurch as he spoke. It sickened her how easily he could turn his charm on and off. It sickened her even more that it worked. "You do know you're special to me right?" The words felt like they were cutting her.

"What?" she choked out, sure she had misunderstood.

"You're special, Coventry. Come on, you must have noticed it. Have you ever seen me with the same girl more than once? No?" Malfoy watched as the girl softened in front of him. It was going to be easier than he thought to manipulate her.

"Come on, Malfoy, you and I both know this is just about sex."

"It doesn't have to be, Katie." She froze. Not once had Draco Malfoy ever used her first name. She wasn't sure if he even called anyone by their first names. He called Crabbe "Crabbe" so much she was pretty sure the whole school forgot he had a first name. "C'mere." He pulled Katie into his chest. She looked up at him through her long eyelashes. A cold hand came and cupped her cheek reassuringly.

Draco looked into the small Hufflepuff's green eyes. He had her.


	10. Chapter Ten - November 25th

Cedric survived. Katie wasn't sure how, but Cedric had survived. She sat at the Hufflepuff table the next morning, Juliette and Hannah by her side, and watched as the rest of their house flocked to the brown haired 17 year old at the head of the table. She couldn't help but giggle when a first year came up and asked for his autograph, which he happily gave.

"Isn't it sad, Katie?" Hannah whispered, staring longingly at Cedric. "He looks like a zoo animal over there." Katie let out a chuckle. Cedric looked as little like a zoo animal as possible— a cheeky smile painted across his face as he recounted his daring victory over the dragon. Katie hadn't even been at the task and even she knew he was no longer telling the truth, as his story had changed each time he told it that morning alone.

"Hannah, you're just jealous," Katie laughed. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine. Besides, it's not like you've ever really spoken to him. You should just go over there already, Han." Hannah's face went white as Juliette and Katie giggled. While the girls continued to bug Hannah about her not so secret crush, a small folded paper bird flew across the Great Hall and landed in front of Katie. Her green eyes went wide. Before the other two girls had realized, she slipped the note into her robe pocket.

"Hey, guys?" she started. She was no longer looking at her friends, but at the blonde boy who had risen on the other side of the room. "I'm gonna run to the bathroom okay? I'll see you guys later." Juliette gave her a strange look as she jumped up from the table and scurried out into the Entrance Hall. When Katie was sure they could no longer see her, she reached into her pocket and unfolded the note.

In small, sharp handwriting, the words "forest. now." sat on the page. She had never seen Malfoy's writing before but she was sure it was his. She stuffed the note back into her pocket and pushed open the heavy wooden doors to the lawns. The cold wind clipped her face bringing tears to her eyes. She shrugged her robes closer to her cheeks and crept down towards Hagrid's hut. She could see the large Gamekeeper fussing around his garden, coaxing one of his Blast-Ended Skrewts back into its box. It let out a blast from its tail and shot forward a couple feet, singeing the Gamekeeper's hands. Katie chuckled to herself as she turned and snuck off into the forest.

Katie had only been in the Forbidden Forest two times before; once the day earlier trying to get to the Dragon task, and the other in her second year. Her brother had taken her out to see a unicorn he had managed to track down. Care of Magical Creatures had always been his best subject, meaning Katie had seen plenty of creatures when he had been in the castle. He always managed to find something sneaking around the grounds, normally something widely dangerous.

The forest was dark due to the clouds covering the sky. As Katie walked between the trees, she could hear animals chittering all around her. She approached a tree near her and saw a small green stick-bug looking creature. She instantly recognized him as a Bowtruckle and crouched down to watch him climb around the roots of the wand wood tree. She couldn't help but miss her brother as she watched the little creature. If he had been there, Katie was sure she'd be telling him all about their diet and mating habits. Another tear slipped down her cheek, though this one wasn't from the cold. She missed Jack, she couldn't deny it. Although she felt quite over the betrayal of her parents– helping Cedric prepare for his task made sure of that– she couldn't help the twinge of sadness and disgust that settled in her chest when she thought of any of them.

She heard a twig break behind her and she quickly jumped to her feet, drawing her wand. She had wandered so deep into the forest that she could only barely see the outline of the trees that bordered the castle grounds, casting shadows and muffling the shapes around her.

" _ Lumos _ ," she whispered and a small ball of light sprouted from the tip of her wand. Standing against a tree a few feet away, Draco Malfoy smiled at her lazily.

"Sacred, Coventry?" he chuckled, moving forward. "Don't worry, love, I won't bite unless you tell me to." A devious smirk crossed his face as the words came out. Katie felt her cheeks reddening as she remembered what they had done in the closet the day earlier.

"You wish, Malfoy," she giggled, moving away from the Bowtruckle's tree. Malfoy closed the gap between the two, planting a deep kiss on her lips. Katie's head swirled as she tasted the mint on his breath. This kiss was different. Unlike the other times, which seemed needy and hungry, this kiss was soft. It reminded her of the kiss they shared in the Owlery, though that felt like a year ago now.

"You're going to have to start listening to me sooner or later, sweetheart," he said, snaking a hand up into her hair.

"So you made me come all the way out here into the cold just to tease me, Malfoy?" His hand let go of her hair and took her much smaller hand.

"Come on, there was something I wanted to show you." Katie dug her heels in.

"No way," she started. "Last time you said that..." She trailed off. The last time he said that, she had run from his room, her face hot from his hand.

"Do you trust me?" She looked up to meet his grey-blue eyes. They had a softness to them that she had never seen before. He laced his fingers with hers and began to pull her deeper into the forest. They walked quietly, with Malfoy occasionally rubbing her hand with his thumb, until they arrived at a dark clearing. A couple feet ahead of them, Katie saw hundreds of flowers covering the ground. Large, emerald green rose bushes dotted the clearing, while similarly colours lilies and other small flowers covered the ground. Despite being a witch, she couldn't help but think of the place as magical.

"It was where my father took my mother when they were in school," Malfoy said, letting go of her hand and walking into the centre of the clearing. Katie gazed around, as thousands of green sparks shot up from everywhere Malfoy stepped. "Father says the flowers never die, charmed or something." He reached out his hand and a vine grew up to meet it, producing a pretty green rose at the end. Malfoy plucked it and returned to Katie. As he placed the flower behind her ear, he tilted her face up to meet his. The two kissed again.

As they pulled apart, Katie asked, "What is this place?" Draco smiled and pulled her into the centre of the clearing. As she walked, the flowers around her started turning a soft yellow. Behind the two, green and yellow sparks leapt up from their footprints.

"The Founder's garden," Malfoy said, as he held her hand out over the ground. A yellow rose vine swirled up to meet her. The petals were the softest she had ever felt. "Used to be on the castle grounds, Father said, but that old bat Dumbledore moved it out here when he became Headmaster. Scared of the power, I guess."

"Power?" Katie met his eyes inquisitively. Malfoy smirked.

"What do you smell, Coventry?" Katie sniffed the air, trying to smell the flowers. While she could definitely smell something sweet and floral, the scent was overpowered by Malfoy's strong cologne and minty breath.

"Nothing over you, Malfoy," she giggled. "How much of that stuff do you even put on?" Malfoy bent down to her ear and whispered.

"I'm not wearing any today, love."

Katie pulled back from the Slytherin and smelled around again. She could clearly smell the warm, manly scent of his expensive cologne.

"The flowers are the closest thing to a natural love potion, Coventry," he chuckled, backing away from her to examine a rose bush. "I'm sure you've heard of Amortentia. Where do you think the wizard got the idea for a scented love potion?" Katie inhaled, letting the smell of the flowers wash over her. She felt her mind getting fuzzy.

"It's like a drug, isn't it?" Draco cooed. Katie nodded, picking the yellow flower from the vine beneath her hand. She brought it to her face, and sure enough, it was the flower emitting the strangely intoxicating smell. She smiled to herself and let it fall to the ground.

"What do you smell?" she asked, turning back to face the boy. The corners of his lips twitched into a smile.

"Vanilla, cherry blossoms, and that muggle shampoo you insist on using," he laughed. Katie brought a strand of her blonde hair to her nose, smelling her shampoo. To be honest, the only reason she used the shampoo was the smell, it was softer than wizard shampoos.

"You smell me?" she asked, not making eye contact. She knew Malfoy, and this was nothing like him. Something had changed after Halloween. He had gotten bolder it seemed, constantly trying to be around her, no matter who saw. It was strange.

Malfoy came in close again, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I was serious yesterday, Coventry. We can be more." His eyes flicked down to her lips. "I want us to be more." He bent down and kissed her softly.

"Malfoy," she said, pulling away. "I haven't changed my mind since yesterday. You don't want to be with me." How could anyone, even someone as vile as Malfoy, want to be with her. If anyone ever found out the truth about her family, she'd be surprised if they'd even be friends with her. Then again, she thought, Malfoy's parents had been Death Eaters too.

"Clearly I do, Coventry." His hands gripped her waist harder, not letting her pull further away. "You're different. You're like me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," he paused, looking speechless for a moment. "It means you understand what it's like to be second best. Everyone's always looking at perfect little Potter. I mean, hell, you lost your parents the same night, what makes him so special." Malfoy had been the one to pull away this time, pacing around the flowers. "Already the most famous wizard in the world and what does he do? Enters a tournament he's not even supposed to be in. God, can't he go five minutes without the attention all on him? Even my father won't stop talking about him..." Katie stopped listening. As Malfoy continued ranting, she realized he was right. Potter was always getting credit for everything. Why couldn't he have left it alone and let Cedric be the sole champion? Then  _ he'd  _ be what everyone would think of Hufflepuffs, even if they found out about her parents.

"You're right," she said quietly. Instantly, Malfoy stopped talking. A flash of shock crossed his pale face.

"Because he's such an insufferable— What? I mean, of course I am." His usual cocky attitude settled back onto his face. "But, Coventry, imagine if the two of us teamed up? Behind that little Mudblood, you're the top of most classes. Except Potions, I've still got you beat there." He smirked as Katie jokingly scowled. "And you're a pure-blood, it's only right that we should be together." He walked back over to her and ran his hand against her cheek. "I can make you feel things you never thought possible, Katie." Her mind flicked back to the numbness she felt whenever they were together, how she finally felt right again; she didn't have to pretend.

"Alright," she whispered, meeting his cold gaze. "Draco." She added his name even more quietly. She'd never called him that before, not unless it was a moan. It caught him off guard, but it didn't last. He leaned in and kissed her deeply. As they separated, Katie looked around at the light fading from the trees. She swore it had only been breakfast when she left the castle, and suddenly it was nearing dusk. Draco looked around and realized what she was thinking.

"Time passes differently here. A minute becomes an hour. They say you could stay young forever here," he explained. "Well, legend says it's only if you're in love. Father says You-Know-Who tried to make his headquarters here once, couldn't get a single flower to bloom." He looked at the growing shadows of the trees. "Guess one of us must be," he added with a smirk. Katie stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. She could feel his smirk turn into a smile.

"We'd better get going then," she said, glancing around. "I don't really fancy being in here at night." Malfoy took her hand and kissed her too softly.

"You go, love" he said, waving his wand and conjuring a small green bird. The bird floated around them before flapping off down a path to Katie's left. "I need to get some flowers for Professor Snape, says he can't get them to bloom himself, lazy git. Besides, hate to say it but I'm sure your soft, little Hufflepuff friends wouldn't like to see you sneaking out of the forest with me." Katie cringed. Justin hadn't told anyone about what he had seen and heard on his way to the dragon task yesterday, but she knew if rumours started going around about her and Draco, he wouldn't hold his tongue. "Just follow the bird, love, it'll lead you right out. I'll find you later." He quickly kissed her on the cheek before spinning her around and slightly pushing her. Katie took his lead and quickly ran off to follow the bird, who already had a considerable lead.

As Katie turned down a path and disappeared from view, Malfoy's smile disappeared from his face. One by one, all the flowers around him began rotting, dropping dead at his feet. A small chuckle escaped from the young man as he slipped out a small mirror. Suddenly, a man with long platinum blonde hair appeared in place of his reflection. All happiness faded from the younger blonde's face.

"Father," he said.

"Draco," the man replied.

"It's done, Father," he whispered. "I brought her to the garden, just like you asked. You were right, the flowers bloomed for her."

"What about you?" the man interrupted. "Did the spell work? Did flowers bloom for you? Not that she would’ve known what it meant if they didn't, but one can't be too careful. She is a pureblood after all, quite bright at that."

"Yes, Father. Green and yellow flowers. She doesn't suspect a thing."

"Good, Draco. We can only hope it is enough. Your mother is worried sick, you know. If you had only worked  _ faster _ ..." Malfoy's father's words cut him like knives. Was it not enough that he had managed to not only use a piece of advanced magic to trick an eternal garden to think he was in love, but trick a girl at the same time?

"I'm sorry, Father, she wouldn't go anywhere near me. Why am I wasting my time on a Hufflepuff anyways? Wouldn't a Slytherin be better? Or a Gryffindor? Hufflepuffs are weak, Father, there's no way the Dark Lord will let her replace me."

"It is not your place to question me, Draco. If you fail, the Dark Lord will punish us all and it will be entirely your fault. He'll kill you, Draco." The man sneered from the other side of the mirror. "However, since you managed to do the  _ very minimum _ you were told... There are signs, Draco, that the Dark Lord is returning much quicker than we thought, and when he does don't think for a second that he won't call on you to do the task he assigned to you at birth." Draco gulped, trying to hide it from his father. He knew the Dark Lord had assigned him a task. He also knew it terrified both his mother and father, despite his father trying to hide it.

"When he marked you, Draco, he believed the Coventrys were dead, along with their babies. After the World Cup, when that wretched woman saw her child... The Dark Lord knows that she lives. The boy is already on our side, he has been around the Manor for some time. Now, if you could deliver this girl to him, fully committed to the cause, he might find her a worthier subject than  _ you."  _ Draco nodded. His father let out a chuckle. "If only the Dark Lord could see how you stall on even the smallest of tasks, he would have never  _ chosen _ you."

"But I  _ am  _ the chosen one Father," he said, definitely. "The Dark Lord chose me." A sneer spread across his Father's face.

"Just get the girl, Draco." With that, the man vanished from the mirror and Draco's own reflection appeared in the glass. Draco looked around at the dark trees. He had Coventry. She was in love, the flowers had proved it, whether she knew it or not. He was convinced she had almost seen through him a couple times, but she seemed to be convinced. Malfoy began to walk the path towards the castle.

He could only think of one thing; how was he going to convince Coventry to trust the Dark Lord, when he wasn't even sure he did himself.


	11. Chapter Eleven - November 30th

"Come to me, Katie," a high, cold voice called. Katie looked around and saw a circle of masked people in dark robes. Directly in front of her stood a tall, pale man, with red eyes and a nose like a serpent. He had his hand extended towards hers.

"Katie," another voice, this time female, called from beside her. "Katie, it's alright. We can be together now." She recognized this voice. Her mother. She swivelled around to look. For the first time, she met her mother's eyes. They were identical to hers, yet infinitely different. Her mother's eyes were cold and frenzied, driven mad from years on the run.

"Katie," finally, a third voice chimed in. It was Draco. She turned the opposite way to see him removing his mask. "Katie, please, I'm sorry." A single tear fell down his cheek.

The man with red eyes approached her now. "Katie," he called again. "Join me, join us. Everyone you love is here, Katie. Join us." The man was now within her reach. Katie reached her hand out and placed it in the man's. At his touch, her forearm seared with pain as a red, angry scar appeared in the shape of a skull and a snake. She felt herself screaming but no noise was coming out. The world began to spin in front of her eyes from the pain and all she could hear was laughter, from both the man and her mother.

***

Katie woke up with a jolt. Sunlight was shining in through the windows as Juliette was shaking her.

"Katie!" she screamed. Katie shook Juliette off her and sat up. Her dorm mates were all standing around her bed, looking confused. "Katie, are you alright?"

"Yea," she shrugged. "Just a nightmare."

"Didn't sound like a nightmare," said Hannah, who stood wrapped in her quilt. "Sounded like a prophecy." The others nodded.

"Like when Trelawney gets all distant and raspy," Juliette added. "You sounded just like her, Katie." They all had a terrified look on their faces. Katie ruffled her hair and tried to remember her dream, but there was a blank.

"Wha-what did I say?" she asked quietly, not making eye contact.

"I don't remember exactly," Hannah started. "But you were talking about your mum. Your mum and..." She trailed off.

"And You-Know-Who," Juliette added, her voice a whisper. A flicker of red eyes and a trickle of laughter flashed through Katie's mind. "We should get you to Professor Dumbledore," Juliette murmured. "Prophecies have to go on record to the Ministry. One of my aunts is a Seer, she's done it a few times. Dumbledore will know what to do." Katie nodded and rose from her bed. Her legs wobbled. As she moved, her friends backed as far away from her as possible, looking afraid. Katie silently wished she knew what she said to make her friends so afraid.

***

"Come in," said Professor Sprout from inside one of the greenhouses. Katie and Juliette stepped through the doors into a lush room filled with magic looking plants. "Good morning, girls. What can I help you with?" Professor Sprout was always warm with the Hufflepuffs, no matter how stern she was with the other houses.

"Er— Professor Sprout, I— um— I think Katie might be a Seer," Juliette stuttered. The shovel Professor Sprout had been holding clattered down onto the counter beneath her. She looked at the two young girls inquisitively, before allowing Juliette to continue. "She— er— might have had a prophecy last night. I think I heard most of it. We were hoping to go see Professor Dumbledore and—" Sprout waved her hand to silence Juliette.

"You were quite right to come to me," Sprout said, taking off her gloves and gardening coat. "Right, well, best get you two inside. Dumbledore'll want to see you before the Ministry gets involved. Come on, let's go." Spout herded them out of the greenhouse and up the path to the castle. As they followed her through the halls, Katie tried to force her mind back into her dream, desperate to remember anything.

They had reached a gargoyle when Sprout finally stopped. She said "Sherbet Lemon" loudly and the gargoyle sprung to life, spinning to reveal stairs. The professor quickly ushered the two girls up.

When they arrived at a door, it was Professor Sprout who knocked. A quiet "come in" came from the other side and the three witches pressed into the room. It was large and circular, with many objects Katie had never seen before littered around the room. Sat at a desk in the centre was Professor Dumbledore, looking deep in thought.

"Ah, Pomona," he started, rising to welcome the women into the room. "What can I do for you and your young students."

"Albus, I'm afraid you were right. Coventry's had her first prophecy," Sprout said gravely. Professor Dumbledore's smile faded slightly while he pondered what she had said. Then, with a sigh, it returned.

"Well, like we always thought, it was only a matter of time," he said, striding across the office. "Thank you Pomona, that'll be all. Now, I would assume you were the one who received this prophecy?" As professor Sprout left the office, Dumbledore turned to Juliette, who nodded.

"Yes sir, but I don't know exactly what she said, sir, I was asleep when she started," Juliette muttered, looking at her feet.

"No matter, we can figure that out, dear girl. Now," he said, turning to Katie. "Do you remember anything from what you saw?"

"How'd you know I saw anything," she blurted, taken aback. Dumbledore gave a chuckle.

"These things work in simple ways, Miss Coventry. Do not be afraid, no matter what you saw." Katie gulped. She told Dumbledore about the red eyes and the laughter, but that was all she could remember.

"Well, that's just as I feared, though not unexpected," Dumbledore murmured. "And you Miss Cowan, what can you remember from the prophecy?"

"Um, well, I know she said 'under the third star, the Dark Lord shall return when his servant returns'? Or, no that wasn't it. I remember, well..." Dumbledore only nodded.

"That's alright, Miss Cowan, I'll have Severus prepare something for your memory and we'll learn soon enough." The old man smiled and returned to behind his desk. "Now, I'm sure you know this must go on record with the Ministry, especially considering your aunt, Miss Cowan." Juliette nodded. Dumbledore asked for their initials and quickly jotted them down.

"K.M.C.?" he asked Katie. "I assume the M is for Marigold, after your mother?" A rock settled in her stomach. Not only did she have her mother's dirty murderous blood, but her very name. She wondered if Dumbledore knew about her parents. He had to, he was Dumbledore.

"Yes, sir," she said quietly. Dumbledore gave a sad, knowing smile before placing down his quill.

"That'll be all, Miss Cowan, you may return to your common room. I'd like to have a further word with Miss Coventry, here." Juliette smiled and nodded goodbye to Katie before disappearing out the door. As the door shut quietly, Dumbledore spoke again.

"You know," he began. "Divination was your mother's best subject. She had the Sight too." He raised his wand and a comfortable armchair appeared in front of his desk, opposite him. Katie approached and sat down.

"Sir, how—"

"How'd I know you were to be a Seer?" he finished for her. Katie nodded quietly. "Well, that is unfortunately, complicated as I am not sure how much you wish to know. Katie, what do you know of your parents?" The rock settled deeper in her stomach. Dumbledore gave a second knowing smile. "Ah, I'll take that as a lot then. Yes, Katie, your parents were supporters of Voldemort. Quiet avid ones at that.

"It started while they were in school. I saw all the signs. Although, I never quite realized it at the time, they were Hufflepuffs after all, and I was more used to seeing it in the Slytherin students. Your mother was particularly fanatic about him. You see, she too had the Sight. She saw the triumphs he would accomplish, the power he would gain. It corrupted her as it did so many others. She brought your poor father with her."

"But sir," Katie interrupted. "If she was a Seer, wouldn't she have known that You-Know-Who would eventually die?"

"Oh, Voldemort is far from dead, Katie. And your mother was not a Seer. She had the Sight, yes, as does everyone in your family. However, true Seers only come once in every three generations, Your great grandmother had been a Seer, you know. I had a hunch you would be too, and now it seems, I was right."

"Sir," Katie said quietly. The old man met her eyes and she could see a sort of gentleness about him. "Could you tell me more about my parents? My brother, well, he said he might've found them, but now they're looking for him and I just wondered—"

"You wondered if your brother was in danger. It's natural that you would worry about him, he was your only family for years. Jack will be fine, Katie. Luckily for him, after he broke into your old house, the Ministry contacted me. I've had some wizards who are loyal to me watching for him. If your parents do decide to show their faces, I'll know.

"Now, I have a few questions of my own, Miss Coventry, if you wouldn't mind? Are you quite certain you have never prophesied before this?" Katie nodded her head. "Then, Katie, I'm going to be quite honest with you, that man you saw in your dreams, that was—"

"It was Voldemort, wasn't it?" She startled herself as she spoke his name for the first time.

"Yes, I'm afraid it was. And, it being your first prophecy, is quite unnerving. You see, your Sight must have been triggered by something, as is true for many Seers. I fear it may be his return, Miss Coventry. We will know for sure once Professor Snape is able to restore Miss Cowan's memory. For now, I must warn you. Voldemort has been known to show an affinity for the young of his followers. He will very likely try to recruit you to his cause. He may try to use those you love to do so." A beckoning hand came across Katie's mind, followed by green eyes and blonde hair.

"Sir, I think that was what I saw in my dream. He was calling to me, and..." she trailed off. "I saw my mother." She ended her sentence abruptly. She didn't want Dumbledore to know that Draco had been there too.

"Yes, Katie, that is quite as I thought." Dumbledore folded his hands and began pondering something intensely. "I must warn you that all of your prophecies must be reported to me, or the Ministry will unfortunately get involved." Katie nodded. She couldn't imagine having another one. "Until then, all we can do is wait, you may leave now if you wish Miss Coventry." Dumbledore waved his hand and opened the door behind her. Katie rose from her seat and hurried herself out of the peculiar office. When she finally reached the hallway on the other side of the gargoyle, the tears began to stream down her face.

***

"Oi, Malfoy," Crabbe called, standing at Draco's dorm room door. "Found this outside the common room for you. 'Nother love letter?" Crabbe dropped a folded piece of parchment on his green bed sheets.

"What are you waiting for?" Malfoy sneered and Crabbe bumbled out of his room. Draco tossed aside the book he had been reading and picked up the note. Inside, in a small dainty script, he saw a tiny message.

I need you. Astronomy Tower.

Coventry had fallen for him harder than he had expected. Here she was, writing for him, begging for him. If it had been anyone else, he would've loved it; the mere idea of him having this much control over a girl would've intoxicated him. But now, it made him feel sick. He was leading the girl to her slaughter. Even worse, she was going willingly.


	12. Chapter Twelve - November 30th

~TW: suicide, pls don't read if this will upset you <3~

Draco climbed the steps of the astronomy tower, Katie's note clutched in his hand. He could hear his father's voice ringing in his ears.

_ We need her, Draco. Get her, Draco. She can do the task better than you, Draco. _

He almost felt bad for her. Though he didn't know what his task was, he was certain he didn't want to do it himself, no matter how much he pretended for his father. Still, he didn't feel right making her do it either.

As he rounded the final stairs and exited onto the top platform, he saw the small blonde standing at the edge of the tower, wind whipping through her wavy hair. He couldn't deny she looked beautiful. Her hands were outstretched holding onto the columns of the tower. He was admiring her when he realized one of her feet was hanging over the edge of the platform. With a jolt, he rushed forward as she leapt off the tower. Draco tore his wand from his pocket, ran towards the edge and yelled " _ Levicorpus _ ", pointing his wand at the falling girl. Her body slowed before slowly rising back towards the tower. Katie was thrashing and fighting against the Slytherin's levitation spell, but ultimately she landed back on the astronomy tower with a thud.

"What the fuck, Coventry!" Draco screamed. "Why would you do that? Katie, god, you could've died."

"Don't you think I know that?" Katie cried, standing up to meet his eyes. "What do you think I was trying to do, Malfoy? You don't understand!"

"What don't I understand? You think you have it so hard? I—"

"I'm a Seer, Draco! I saw  _ him! _ Voldemort! He's back. And he wants me. He has my parents, and he—" Katie stopped talking suddenly, before backing away from the boy, looking frightened. "He had  _ you." _

Draco's heart dropped. How could she know that? She couldn't know he was marked, no one did. Even he hadn't ever seen the mark.  _ Play dumb, _ a voice chimed from inside his head.

"What?" Draco sputtered. "He doesn't have me, Katie. He's  _ gone _ . Died with silly, old Potter." Malfoy stepped towards the girl, reaching out his hand to stroke her face. "Katie, what do you mean he has your parents?" The two sat down on the edge of the tower, Malfoy's arm around her shoulders, while Katie rambled her story. As Katie explained everything— her Sight, her parents, her dream— Draco pretended to know nothing.

"She was exactly like me, Draco," she sobbed into his chest. "Exactly like me and she ended up as one of his favourite followers. What if I'm like her, Draco?" Two watery, green eyes peered up at him through wet lashes. Draco felt his stomach tie in knots. He was going to force her to become just like her mother. It was him or her.

"You're not, sweetheart," he lied. "I promise." Draco tilted her head down and stroked her hair, unable to look into her eyes. Inside, he felt like sobbing himself. He was a bully, true, but he never thought he was evil. Now, looking down at the sobbing girl in his arms, he realized something; he was becoming exactly what his father wanted him to be.

Katie whimpered in his arms. Her thoughts swirled around her mother and her dream. If what Dumbledore's said was true, if she truly was a Seer, then why had she seen Draco in her dream? She knew, of course, his family's affiliation with You-Know-Who, but her parents were the same. She couldn't think about it any longer.

"Draco," she whispered, lifting her head slightly. "He's coming back. I know it." It was true. She could feel that with every inch of her body.

"You know that's not possible, Coventry," he whispered, a slight quiver to his voice. "He can't come back. Come on, let's get down from up here, you're freezing." He helped her stand up before walking towards the stairs and down the tower, hand in hand. When they reached the final turn before the main hallway, Draco stopped.

"I guess we'd better, er," he gestured to their interlocked fingers. Katie pulled her hand away slowly. "Can't have your friends finding out about us, can we?"

"Right," Katie said, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "Thank you, for, er, coming, I guess." Her words were tumbling out of her mouth. Malfoy gave a smile that she would almost call sincere, until it quickly morphed into a smirk.

"Can't have you jumping off buildings without me, can I?" he chuckled. "Someone might think I made you do it." They shared a small laugh before the Slytherin slipped out of the stairwell and into the main hallway. After waiting a few moments, Katie followed.

The hallway was noisy. She could hear people calling from the courtyard. She walked through the crowd of people loitering in the halls surrounding the courtyard, all of them trying to get a glimpse of what was happening just beyond the arches. As she got closer, she realized that the crowd was mostly boys. Katie found a hole in the crowd and peered into the courtyard.

In the centre, several of the Beauxbatons girls danced and casted spells around the courtyard. Blue sparks shot out their wands as they twirled around, giggling and humming. In the middle of them all, the Beauxbatons champion, Fleur Delacour, was twirling her golden hair. Every eye was on her, as though she had some sort of spell over them. The boys all seemed transfixed.

On the other side of the courtyard, Malfoy was standing with a group of Slytherins. His eyes, like all the others, were trained on the French girls, except they didn't have the glazed over look that the others shared. Beside him, a pug faced girl with short black hair tried to take his hand. For some reason, it made Katie's heart pang. As Pansy tried to lace her fingers with the boy's, Draco gave her a swat, causing her to storm off. From across the courtyard, Katie could see his friends asking him why, to which he just shrugged.

A new feeling welled in Katie. Pride? She wasn't sure. It was definitely a different from her normal self loathing she got whenever Draco wasn't around. Again, she found herself loving the way Draco Malfoy made her feel.

***

Katie sat in the Great Hall that night, eating mashed potatoes and roast chicken. Beside her, Hannah Abbott was scribbling their Astronomy homework on some parchment. All the fear from that morning, when she had her prophecy had been forgotten. On the other side of the Hall, Katie watched as Draco boasted to Crabbe and Goyle about some joke he made at Potter's expense in one of their classes. Katie chuckled to herself until Hannah tapped her arm.

"What is up with you?" she laughed, nudging across the Hall. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're staring at Malfoy." Hannah let out a hearty laugh as Katie's face went red. She quickly looked down at her potatoes.

"No, haha," Katie laughed. "That would be crazy, wouldn't it?" Hannah poked her arm again before returning to her homework.

"I mean, could you imagine? Malfoy with a Hufflepuff? I'll believe that when there's a blonde haired Weasley!" Hannah chuckled. Katie knew she was right. Malfoy was notorious for his hatred of all things that weren't Slytherin. And yet, whenever she was with him, none of that hatred was there.  _ I mean,  _ she thought,  _ the flowers bloomed for him, he must love me at least a little. _

There was a clattering in the Entrance Hall as Filch clambered into the hall. The old man trundled up to the Hufflepuff table and stopped before the two girls.

"Miss Coventry," he crooned, a greasy smile spreading across his wrinkled face. "Headmaster wants to see you. You're in trouble, you are." Katie shovelled one more mouthful of potatoes into her mouth before standing and following Filch out of the Great Hall.

***

" _ The Dark Lord shall rise under the sky of the third night. His servant shall deliver his prize to the base of his family tree and Master shall be grown from sapling once more. Two marked at birth will come to fight, in vain for she who has gained her Sight. The Dark Lord shall rise under the sky of the third night... _ "

Her own voice rang out from a small, stone basin on Professor Dumbledore's desk.

"As you can see," Dumbledore murmured. "Miss Cowan's memory has been successfully restored and extracted. Now, Miss Coventry, we must discuss this. Are you still sure you haven't remembered anything else?" Katie shook her head. The memory of her dream still evaded her, but now hearing what she had said, she craved to see all of it. The flashes scared her more than anything. You-Know-Who. Her Mother. Malfoy.

"Sir," she started. Katie stepped carefully towards the stone basin. She saw her own face floating in the water below, laying in her bed, eyes wide open yet glossed over. " _ For she that has gained her Sight? _ Sir, is that me? I mean, it's got to be right? Its—" Dumbledore raised a silencing hand.

"I fear it is, Miss Coventry." Dumbledore's brow furrowed. "Now the only question, who is the other marked at birth? I can assume the first is Mr. Potter. I shall send word to Professor Snape, to monitor Potter. I dare say he has too much on his plate these days for us to share this with him, just yet."

"But sir," Katie continued. "When is the 'third night'? Shouldn't we warn Potter? If he's destined to fight for— what! For me? What does that even mean!" Katie was beginning to shout. She paced around the study, wringing her hands. "Sir, Potter doesn't even  _ know  _ me! Why in Merlin's name would he fight  _ for  _ me?" Katie's hands trembled with anger. Over the course of a month, everything in her life had changed. She could feel her insides heating up with resentment. All of it began tumbling out, with the exception of one blonde boy.

Katie continued pacing until the anger inside her finally fizzled out. She apologized to the Headmaster, feeling embarrassed for her outburst.

"It is no matter, Miss Coventry," the old man smiled. "It is quite expected that one would react as you have when told all of it. About Mr. Potter, I will indeed warn him, do not worry about that. However, we must be careful. Potter is— how shall I put this— impulsive. It is very possible he may try to seek out Voldemort before he is ready. This, of course, must be dissuaded." Katie nodded. "I must ask you, Miss Coventry, to not share this with Potter."

"Of course, Sir." Katie's face was still sparkling in the water of the Pensieve.

"In the meantime, I am going to inform our dear Professor Trelawney of your Sight. If you should have another vision, and I am not here, go to her."

"Sir, why wouldn't you be here?"

"I have other things to attend to. There is, unfortunately, more rumours than just your prophecy of Voldemort returning. I will be conferring with the Ministry, though it can't be expected that they will be much help." Katie nodded. She knew the Ministry could be useless; they didn't even know her parents were Death Eaters. In the silence that followed, the Headmaster gave Katie a quick goodbye as she rose to leave the office. The Hufflepuff girl descended the Headmaster's staircase, looking at her feet, before emerging into the loud hallways beneath the study. A solid block slammed into her shoulder as she stepped out from behind the gargoyle. Katie jumped back and looked up to find green eyes staring back at her. Potter.

"I–er – sorry," Potter stuttered and moved out of the way for Katie.

"'S'alright," Katie choked out. Seeing Potter in front of her now, knowing he would one day 'fight for her', she couldn't help but feel nervous. He had turned his own eyes to his feet now, clearly waiting for her to move. Katie took the hint and slipped past him into the hallway. She had started walking away, toward the Hufflepuff common room, when suddenly she stopped. The anger she felt was welling inside her again.

"Potter!" she called, making the boy pause mid step into the stairs to the Headmaster's office. He turned and stepped back down to the hallway. Katie turned and stormed back towards the office, her golden robes billowing behind her with the force of her steps.

"Blimey, er, Hi. Katie, right?" Harry was looking more confused than embarrassed this time.

"What are you going to see Dumbledore for?" Katie snapped, not caring for small talk. "Did he call you?"

"What? No, I—" Potter looked bewildered as the Hufflepuff took his hand and pulled him away from the main hallway into a stairwell that was rarely used. "Katie, what's—"

"Stop talking, just listen to me," Katie began as she sat down on a step and launched into a complicated story, often retelling parts and getting off track. She explained her parents, her brother, her dream and Sight, and anything else she could think of that involved him. She, consciously, left out Draco. "Right, well, I don't understand it all really but, he's coming back. You're supposed to fight him. With someone else, someone else who was marked at birth to fight him. I don't know who, I don't know when, I don't know anything really. Dumbledore didn't even want me to tell you, but I couldn't help it! You needed to know, especially if you're part of it!" Harry sat quietly as she finished her story.

"Well, Dumbledore's got to know more," he finally said, standing to leave.

"Potter! No!" she yelled slightly too loud for the small space. "Dumbledore doesn't know anything! At least nothing he wants to tell you or me. Look, I know we aren't friends, and I know we barely know each other, but I think we're both involved in this somehow. You, me, and.." she trailed off. Although she wasn't sure, she had a sinking feeling that somehow Malfoy was involved too.

"The other marked at birth," Potter said, finishing her sentence. "I'm going to tell Ron and Hermione. They might be able to help, figure it out maybe. Want to come?" The offer took Katie off guard. "You and Hermione are friends right? I see you talking in Herbology."

"Well, I guess we are," Katie said. In reality, she hadn't talked to Hermione in a while, and was quite sure that they weren't considered friends anymore. "Yea, sure, I'll come. Help explain, I guess." The two awkward friends headed out of the stairwell quietly, not speaking as they weaved through the busy hallways.


	13. Chapter Thirteen - November 30th & December 1rst

Rain was pattering against the Great Hall windows as a storm raged above the students heads. Since that morning, a storm had blown in across the lake and settled over the area. The bewitched ceiling was clouded and dark, a mix of snow and rain falling. Katie and the three Gryffindors sat at the Gryffindor table whispering. Katie couldn't help but laugh at herself; months ago she made fun of Paranoid Potter for always being hunched over the table, whispering with his friends. Now, she was just as paranoid as he was.

She and Harry finished repeating the story to Ron and Hermione. Ron had finally made up with Harry. Even being in a different House, with her thousands of problems, Katie had felt the rift between them. Now, the two of them sat huddled together like there had never been an issue.

"Right, well, you're obviously one of the 'marked at birth'," Hermione said, addressing Harry. "But the other? I've never seen anything in any of my reading about another with a scar like yours, Harry."

"Blimey, couldn't be any of Fred and George's, could it? They've got loads of magical scars," Ron chimed. "All self-inflicted, mind you." He added the end as a mutter.

"No, I doubt it," Katie said. "It said marked at  _ birth _ , right?"

"You'd be surprised how early those blokes started." Ron let out a laugh.

"No, Katie's right," Hermione added. "Doesn't seem like it could be that. It's got to mean a deliberate marking, like Harry's. You-Know-Who left that scar on Harry through violence, it's got to mean something like that." The four puzzled at the table for hours, theorizing everyone from Cedric to Mrs. Norris.

"I'm just saying! That's not a regular cat!" Ron was defending his theory firmly, despite the others giggling profusely. "She's evil, that one."

"So a  _ cat  _ is going to fight You-Know-Who for Katie?" Hermione giggled, causing Ron to go red and furrow his brow with a grumble.

Katie was feeling almost happy sitting at the table with the three friends. The way they joked with her reminded her of being at the MacMillan's on the summer holidays. Ernie and his friends were always kind to her and her brother. Her heart let out a small pang at the thought of Justin, who still had not spoken to her.

Just as the thought of Justin came, the memory of Malfoy roughly kissing her rushed back to her. At the time, she hated how he'd ambushed her with Justin. Now, with everything that had happened, it was sending a jolt through her body. She felt stupid that there were butterflies in her stomach over him, and yet, she couldn't help but remember his kiss, his touch. Her mind was straying to much less wholesome things. The painful way he'd bite her neck. The way his fingers felt deep inside...

"Right, Katie?" Hermione's voice broke her out of her daydream. "Your prophecy said 'third night'?"

Katie nodded, a blush creeping over her face at what she had just been thinking.

"Right, but I don't know when that is any more than you do," Katie conceded, focusing back on their conversation. "Third task maybe?"

"Third task's not at night, though," Ron answered. "Percy let that one slip. 'Mr. Crouch says it is far too dangerous to have any tasks at night'. Ruddy git. Maybe January third? Third night of the year?" Hermione shook her head this time.

"No, there's got to be something more important." Harry let out a small laugh.

"If I didn't know any better, Hermione," he chuckled. "I'd say you believe in Divination." Ron started laughing after this. Hermione's walk-out of Trelawney's class last year had sort of become legend.

"This isn't like that. We know Katie, she's not a fake," Hermione said, crossing her arms. "Besides, I never said that prophecies weren't real. Just the rest of the rubbish Trelawney had us doing. 'Look into the future!' I mean, Katie's a Seer and she can't even do that." All of them were laughing at this point.

"It's true," Katie said. "Divination's my worst class."

"You're still top of the class. I swear you'll beat Hermione one day in the others," Ron said, poking Hermione.

"Or Malfoy," Harry added. "He's still top potions, isn't he?" Katie thought back to her first potions lesson of the year, and rubbed her scarred hand. So much had changed since then. Malfoy had become so much softer with her. Loving, even. She wondered if he even remembered the scar he left on her.

"He is," Katie said. "Not that it matters. Snape will never let me get ahead of him. Remember?" She waved the back of her left hand for them.

"Wait!" Ron said, excitedly. "What if that's the mark! Your hand!"

"Ron, I'm the Seer, remember?" The group erupted into laughter.

***

The next day, Katie stood in Greenhouse three next to Hannah and Susan, potting her Sugar Shrub. Hermione, Ron and Harry were stood across the bench from her, each working on their own plants. Juliette and Hannah gave her a strange look when the three Gryffindors had come to stand with them, especially when Harry and Ron both said hello to them. Usually, it was just Hermione.

"Right, finish potting your shrubs and you're free to leave, good work today," Professor Sprout said loudly. "Members of my House, stay behind." A groan rang out through the class.

As the Gryffindors left the greenhouses, Hermione gave Katie a small smile and squeezed her hand before leaving with Ron and Harry. Again, Juliette and Hannah gave her a strange look.

"Well, as you're all aware, the Tournament is still taking place at Hogwarts. You all know, or should know, Mr. MacMillan," Professor sprout stopped to glare at Ernie who was hexing his shrub lazily. "...that the tournament is meant to strengthen our relationships with other wizarding schools. There is a tradition that is meant, specifically, for you. The Yule Ball is held on Christmas Day as a chance for you to engage with your peers from the other schools. Now, if any of you, disgrace this House or worse, this  _ school _ , I'll have you scrubbing Stink Sap out of Greenhouse Four until you graduate."

"Professor Sprout," Ernie piped up. "Are we bringing dates to this 'ball'" He chuckled with Justin, clearly not taking the whole thing seriously.

"As a matter of fact, yes Mr. MacMillan," Professor Sprout said with a smirk. "It is custom that all attending students bring a date, expected really. So I expect all of you to be respectful when you're asking girls to be your dates." Ernie's face dropped, realizing he'd have to ask a girl to dance. Katie laughed, knowing that Ernie had as much of a chance of landing a girl as she did of turning into a werewolf. As the thought crossed her mind, a whisper of panic came with it. With the year she was having, she wasn't writing anything out of the picture as impossible.

As she left the greenhouse with Hannah and Susan, the three girls giggled about who was going to ask them to the ball.

"I bet you Harry goes with Hermione," Hannah laughed. "Didn't you read Rita Skeeter's latest? Harry and Hermione are dating! Or, was it that she's dating Ron? You're friends with them, is it true?"

"What's up with that anyways?" Susan chimed. "Since when  _ are _ you friends with Harry and Ron? We knew about Mione, everyone loves her, but those two? Paranoid Potter?"

"Harry and Hermione are definitely not dating," Katie laughed, continuing to walk towards the castle. "Neither are her and Ron, far as I know. Though, I think she fancies him." As the three walked through the archways and into the castle, Susan decided to drop the subject. In reality, Katie wasn't ready to tell them about her prophecy. Everyday, she felt she was keeping more and more from her friends. Thinking about that, she realized that she hadn't seen Juliette since she had left Dumbledore's office.

"Didn't you hear?" Hannah answered. "Her aunt's pulled her out of school! Said you're a Seer, and if you're getting your Sight this young, nothing good is going to come of it." Katie's heart dropped. Juliette had been her first friend at Hogwarts and yet she had driven her out of the castle. However, she couldn't help but feel that her aunt was right. Something bad was coming.

"No, no! I mean, come on, me? A Seer?" Katie chuckled, trying to change the subject. "Who d'you think Ced's going to take to the ball?"

"Hannah hopes it's her," Susan giggled, poking a quickly reddening Hannah.

"It could be!" Hannah protested, earning a laugh from the other two girls. The three walked down into the dungeons for their next class, Potions with Snape and the Slytherins.

As they approached the dungeon, Katie saw Draco standing with his group of friends. He offered her a small smile as she walked past, before quickly covering it with a sneer when Parkinson looked his way.

"Draco," she cooed. "Who're you taking to the ball. No one's asked me yet." She dragged her hand up his arm, flirting with him. Katie's blood began to rise to her ears, watching Parkinson touching him. Thankfully, she could see on Draco's face that he wasn't interested.

"Pansy, you're pathetic," he said, coldly. "Blaise doesn't have a date either, why don't you go try it with him?"

"But! Draco!" she protested, sounding whiny like a child. "We're a couple! Aren't we? Don't you remember when I..." Her hand trailed down to his hips, brushing across his front. Draco grabbed her hand roughly.

"Parkinson," he snarled. "I'm done with you. You're pathetic, rubbish. I  _ let you _ sleep with me because I was bored." His eyes flicked past Pansy to meet Katie's, before flipping back. "You're nothing to me."

Pansy must've started crying because once Draco let her go, she hurried off to a group of Slytherin girls who started comforting her. Katie felt a strange feeling well up inside her. Seeing Draco pushing other girls off him sent chills down into her most sensitive areas. On the other hand, how cold he had been to Parkinson left her with a different feeling. Her heart dropped at the way his voice spit ice at the girl, however when he had met her eyes, everything had melted and he had been warm.

The students walked into the dungeon and took the seats they had been in all year. However, since Juliette had been pulled out, Katie's bench was empty other than her things. She sat down and began pulling her ingredients out of her bag, as someone settled into the seat next to her. She looked up to see none other than Draco Malfoy sitting next to her. Her heart leapt.

"Draco, what—" He gripped her hand under the table to silence her.

"Shh, quiet love," Draco whispered, his voice barely audible. "No one will think anything of it. I just couldn't be away from you, and since the little Mudblood is gone..." He saw Katie flinch at the slur directed to her friend. Draco muttered a quick apology. "Since she's gone, I figured I'd come over here. Just act normal." Katie nodded and faced forward as Draco let go of her hand. She brought it up on the table and began copying down Snape's instructions from the board.

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, coming to their bench during one of his rounds of the room. "May I ask what you're doing over here with Miss Coventry? I'd have thought you would have better taste than... this." He gestured towards Katie's scarred hand.

"Gotta make sure she doesn't blow us all up, sir," Draco said coldly, acting as though he hadn't been holding that scarred hand a moment before. "Can't trust these Hufflepuffs with potions, they're almost as bad as Longbottom." Snape gave a greasy smile before moving along, clearly believing what Draco had said. However, Draco reassured her it was a lie as his hand came to rest on her thigh, under the table and unseen by anyone else. Katie's breath quickened at the soft weight on her leg.

While the rest of the class struggled to brew a common antidote to poison, Katie struggled to keep a straight face as Malfoy's hand moved carefully up her leg. He smoothly moved her robes aside so his hand was on her bare thigh. Katie crushed her dried nettle leaves, trying to hide how turned on she was already becoming. Malfoy leaned in and whispered softly in her ear.

"If I moved my hand down," he whispered sultry, centimetres from her ear. "Would I feel that you're already soaking wet for me?" Butterflies travelled down her stomach and into her wetness. She swallowed hard and added her leaves to the bubbling liquid in her cauldron.

"Come on, Coventry," he continued, bringing his hand into the crook of her hip under her skirt. "Why so quiet? I know the sounds you make when I touch you." His hand brushed her panties, sending a quiver throughout her body. He hooked one finger inside, right next to her sensitive clit. She could feel the cold from his fingers against her heat.

From the outside, it appeared as though they were both invested in their potions, not even sparing a look at one another. But inside, Katie felt as though she was on fire. Malfoy's finger touched her clit softly, causing Katie to stifle a moan with a fake cough. The boy smirked, enjoying the effect he was producing. His need to dominate the girl had disappeared. He didn't care if she was scared or ashamed of him; in fact, he wanted to make her feel good. What was this girl doing to him?

His own cauldron was bubbling as he mindlessly stirred it with the hand that wasn't occupied. Meanwhile, his other hand began rubbing circles around the Hufflepuff girl's clit, watching as she gripped her ladle harder. She was stirring her potion in jerky circles, clearly trying not to show any reaction.

She was stirring the potion in the wrong direction, which would ruin her potion. He knew she'd never make that mistake if he wasn't playing with her sensitive spot. He was unknowingly sabotaging her. Malfoy's heart dropped for a second. He knew that he had her wrapped around his finger, unwittingly letting him lead her towards her own slaughter. As much as he tried to deny it, Malfoy had a conscience. The Hufflepuff girl was sweet, and he knew she was falling in love with him. Now, after seeing her break down on the Astronomy Tower, the silly mistake she was making almost broke his heart. He had her completely and it was ripping him apart.

Katie let out a soft, barely audible moan, bringing Malfoy back to the present. The girl was gripping the table with white knuckles, starting to come undone on Malfoy's fingers. A wet spot was starting to form on her panties, making the boy smirk. He decided to take it further, slipping a finger inside of her. A whimper left Katie's lips, as her potion began to smoke. She realized she had been stirring in the wrong direction and quickly corrected it. Although she was sure the damage was already done, she couldn't focus long enough to care. She felt herself tightening as his finger curled against her g-spot, thumb still circling her clit. She was going to cum, in class, in front of everyone.

"Come on, darling," he purred. "I know you're getting so close, I can feel it." He leaned closer to her, not close enough for anyone to realize, but close enough for her to feel his breath. "You're gorgeous when you're cumming all over me. Don't you want all these people to see how good I can make you feel?" Katie's core quivered at his words. As much as she knew everyone would hate her if they found out about her and Malfoy, the thrill of her cumming in a room filled with people just brought her closer to release. With a final curl of his skilled fingers, her insides tightened as she came all over his fingers. She bit into her lip to not let any sounds escape while beside her, the Slytherin boy snickered.

"Good girl," he praised, taking his hand out from under the table. Katie struggled to catch her breath. Malfoy was different. He was her first.

Her attention turned back to her cauldron. Her potion was a sickly orange colour, a lot like puke. She gave Draco a sarcastic smile as she tried to salvage the potion.

"Oh, I'm sorry love," he mocked. "But it didn't seem like you were against it." Draco's potion, on the other hand, was perfect. A devious smile flashed across his face. He leaned in very closely this time, enough that others had noticed.

"How'd you like to go to the ball with me?" he said into her ear while Katie blushed. "As my girlfriend, I mean. Out in public." The blonde girl stopped stirring her potion and turned to face him, forgetting that she didn't want people to think they were talking.

"What? Your  _ girlfriend? _ " she choked out in a loud whisper. "I— what? Wouldn't everyone hate us? My friends would—"

"Shh," he whispered. "I was serious back in the broom cupboard and the garden. I want you, Coventry. You know there's something between us. I don't care who knows it." Katie blushed deeper. The idea of being Draco Malfoy's girlfriend scared her. Being his girlfriend meant her friends would find out. Worse, Juliette and Hermione would find out. Draco terrorized them, calling them Mudbloods every chance he got. Once they found out she was with him, they'd hate her. Yet she still had feelings for him, she couldn't deny it. Even when she was numb and feeling nothing after she found out about her parents, all she  _ could  _ feel was him.

"Yes," she whispered, not realizing the word had escaped her at first. "Yes, Draco, I'll be your girlfriend." She wasn't sure what made the words fall out of her mouth but once they settled in the air, she realized it was what she wanted. She wanted him.

"Miss Coventry," Snape said coldly, suddenly appearing behind her. "This antidote would kill someone. You're lucky Dumbledore is preventing me from letting students test their potions, otherwise you'd likely end up with Madame Pomfrey again." A sneer crept across his face. "It's  _ supposed _ to look like Mr. Malfoy's." The Potions Master gestured to Malfoy's cauldron. Katie rolled her eyes, knowing she only messed up her potion because of 'Mr. Malfoy'. She could see Malfoy snickering out of the corner of her eye. Despite the insults coming from Snape, Katie felt happy.


	14. Chapter Fourteen - December 1rst

Draco walked back to the Slytherin common room quietly. Beside him, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini bickered about who they were taking to the ball.

"I'm just saying, mate," Blaise said loudly. "If you're not taking Parkinson, I am." Malfoy waved his hand, silently telling him to go for it.

"She's not worth it, Blaise," he said lazily. "She's desperate and pathetic."

"We heard you earlier," Theo said. "Calling her out like that in front of everyone, not cool." Blaise muttered a small agreement.

"Oh, fuck off," Malfoy replied. "I don't care about pathetic Parkinson. Girls are a headache I don't need. I've got more  _ important  _ things to worry about, not that you idiots would understand." He rubbed his forearm.

"About that, mate," Blaise said, wrapping his arm around Draco's shoulders. "Saw you with the Hufflepuff orphan. What's up with that? You two seemed... friendly."

"Mind your business, Blaise" Malfoy said, taking the boy's arm off his shoulders and turning to face him. The three Slytherins stopped in the deserted hallway. "You might end up getting involved in something you can't get out of."

"Is that a threat, Malfoy?" Blaise drew his wand from his pocket. Malfoy was quicker and held his own right under the other boy's chin.

"Yea, maybe it is," he glared. "Stay away from Coventry. She means nothing to me, got it? If you screw this up for me—"

"Screw what up, mate?" Blaise spit. "You never tell us anything anymore. Or Crabbe. Or Goyle. What's gotten into you?"

"You're stupid Blaise! Something's happening that's bigger than all of us. Just because your family doesn't trust you enough to let you help doesn't mean mine can't. I need Coventry. She's nothing more than a pawn in this. You're going to stay the hell out of my way, or else–" he trailed off. He turned quickly and hurled a hex against the wall behind him. A chunk of stone exploded, showering them in dust.

"Fuck, Malfoy!" Theo cried, jumping back. "Alright, we'll drop it. But you don't have to be so secretive all the time. You know we can help you, right?" Malfoy scowled at the two boys before taking off down the hallway. Blaise and Theo hurried to keep up with the blonde boy.

Inside, Draco knew he was lying. As much as we wanted to convince himself that she was nothing, seeing her so vulnerable, in bed and emotionally, made him feel something for the girl. She was soft which he usually hated, but with her it was different– she was soft  _ for _ him. She let her walls down for him, let him see a part of her that he rarely saw of anyone. He trusted her a way that people never did. It gutted him; he knew he was going to betray her.

He hadn't lied when he'd told her he wanted her. The girl had intoxicated him from the very beginning. Although at first he just wanted to destroy her innocence, as she began to defy him, she had managed to grab a hold of something deep inside him. He hated to admit it, but he was growing attached to the girl. He had feelings for her.

The three boys reached the common room and separated into their individual dorms. Draco dropped his bag by the door and fell into his bed. He lay on his back, staring at the green canopy of his bed, and all he could think of was the Hufflepuff girl. He remembered her head thrown back in pleasure from the broom cupboard. He remembered the smile she gave him in Potions when he'd asked her to the ball. He remembered the pained look on her face when she told him that she had Seen him with the Dark Lord. The last memory filled his veins with ice. He would have to see that face again.

The boy turned over and buried his face in a pillow, trying to shut the thoughts out. He saw her body falling from the Astronomy tower. He saw the tears falling from her eyes. He felt sick.

His father was evil. Making him do this, turning him into this, it was evil. He was a teenager! Why should he have to fight in a war that hadn't even started yet? He felt a prickle in his forearm. The boy turned back onto his back and rolled up his dark sleeve. His scar– a faded snake and skull– was getting darker every day. He'd had the scar for as long as he could remember. His father had told him that the Dark Lord had left it the day he was born– chosen him, he had said– to be his most dedicated servant. He was the first child the Dark Lord had claimed from infancy, hoping to build an army of young, pureblood wizards. He had been killed before he could mark anymore. He knew Katie's prophecy had been right; the Dark Lord was returning, only he was coming back a lot faster than anyone thought.

Draco thought about the last conversation he had with his father. After he and Katie left the Astronomy Tower, he'd spoken with his father through the Two-Way Mirror and informed him that the Coventry girl was a Seer. His father was predictably mad. He chastised Draco for not finding it out sooner, since if she managed to have a vision about the Slytherin, all would be ruined.

"She cannot take your place if you can't get her to believe in the Dark Lord, Draco," his father had hissed. "She must come willingly. If she Sees you—"

"She won't see me, Father," he protested. "She doesn't suspect a thing! Besides, the Dark Lord doesn't have a Seer, if we brought him one, he would reward us, wouldn't he?"

"Or he'd kill us! You're foolish, boy, you think you're invincible but the Dark Lord knows cruelties you could never imagine! I'll–"

"I'll take care of it, Father."

He'd turned down the mirror after that. His father's words were still echoing in his mind. How was he going to get Katie, a girl who had thrown herself off the Astronomy Tower at the mere mention of the Dark Lord, to believe in him?

***

Katie's dress robes had come in. Mrs. MacMillan, who always wanted a daughter, had ordered them from Madame Malkin's at the beginning of the year, but opted to keep them with her in Yorkshire as they had arrived after the students had left for Hogwarts. The next morning in the Great Hall, hers and Ernie's robes had thudded down onto the table from Katie's owl, Eloise.

"Oi, Katie!" Ernie said from the other end of the table. "Those our robes?" He got up and walked to where Katie and Hannah were sitting.

"Yea, your mum sent them," Katie answered, peeling back the brown packaging. She saw a purple box with the scissor logo of Madam Malkin's robe shop. Ernie reached across the table and snatched the package out from Katie's hand. He pulled out a stylish black jacket and a pair of trousers, and held them up for the girls to see, causing Hannah to swoon.

"Ernie, wow," she said, looking at the outfit. "Those are gorgeous. You're going to look better than your date!" Ernie scoffed.

"What date?" he muttered, placing his outfit back on the table. "Haven't got one yet. No one's said yes. If no one says yes soon, I'm gonna end up with Loony Lovegood." The Hufflepuffs laughed. While Luna had always been nice and friendly to Katie, she understood why she'd gotten that nickname.

"What about yours Katie? What are your robes like?" Hannah piped up. Katie stole the package back and tore off the piece of tissue paper that separated her robes from Ernie's. Under she saw a beautiful golden fabric. The picked up the fanciest dress she'd ever seen; it was floor length, a sweetheart neckline with off the shoulder sleeves. The dress itself was white, but a gold lace overlay made the dress twinkle with a soft yellow hue. As she spun it around, she saw it had an open back that would trail almost to her hips.

"Katie," Ernie said, his jaw hanging open. "That's... wow." Hannah's face told her that she was thinking the same thing. The dress was beautiful. On the other side of the Great Hall, she caught Draco checking out the dress. As if on cue, he stood up and strode over towards her table. Her breath stopped as he got closer. He strolled around to her side of the table and sat down beside the Hufflepuff girl.

"You're going to look ravishing in that, darling," he purred, snaking his arm around her waist. His other hand felt the gold lace of the dress. "Though I would've gotten you something  _ much _ better." Katie saw her friends’ faces change from awe to scowls as the Slytherin boy pawed Katie. Although she didn't mind it, she could tell her friends were at best confused, and at worst furious.

"Draco, what are you–" Katie was cut off by Hannah.

"' _ DRACO _ !?'"Hannah screeched. "Since when are you calling Malfoy 'Draco'." Her eyes were angry, very angry.

"Hannah, I... it...I don't know... we just," Katie struggled to explain herself. How did this happen? It felt so sudden and yet so slow burning at the same time.

"Come off it, Abbott," Malfoy smirked, moving his hand from Katie's waist to her shoulder, where everyone could see. "Don't be mad just because Diggory won't give you a second look." Katie turned and scowled at Malfoy. He gave her a joking smile.

"How can you let him talk to her like that!?" Ernie yelled.

"He was just joking Ernie!" Katie's voice came out stronger than she felt. "I knew you were going to be upset about this."

"Of course we're upset!" Hannah added. "He's disgusting Katie! Do you not remember what he said about Juliette? Or Hermione? Or Justin? He's only even speaking to you because you're a pureblood!"

"Can't you see I'm happy?" Katie was angry with her friends. It was true, Draco had been horrible to them, and many others, in the past, but he was kind and soft with her. Well, sometimes. Others he was slamming her against doors and desks making her cry out with pain and pleasure.

"Happy! Happy?" Ernie was almost laughing. " _ He  _ makes you happy? What happened to Justin? You've been head over heels for him since first year!"

"The little..." Draco paused and looked at Katie. "Muggle born?" he finished. Katie was shocked. She'd never heard him say that before; it was always mudblood. "Can't say that he's been much of an issue, has he? Coventry needs someone better than him." Katie recoiled at the boy's taunt. She didn't like this Draco. Although, as she thought back to Hallowe'en, when it all really started, she wasn't exactly surprised. His cruelty is what drew her to him. When she had learned about her parents, his harsh words were all she felt she deserved.

"Hannah, Ernie, I..." She didn't know how to finish. "He helped me. I've been going through a lot, alright? Draco's been there for me. He's not all bad."

Her words stung Draco. ' _ He's not all bad' _ . If only she knew his real intentions, she'd hate him. The thought of that, as much as he didn't want to admit it, hurt him.

"This is about becoming a Seer?" Hannah yelled. Ernie got a shocked look on his face. Clearly the news of Katie's prophecy hadn't travelled far. "Jesus Katie, that was yesterday!"

"No! It's been, well, it's been for a while. Not officially. My brother was  _ missing,  _ Hannah, or were you too busy pining after Cedric to notice. And you!" she turned to Ernie. "We're supposed to be  _ family! _ You weren't even worried about him! Did you even know? After all he did for you when we were kids?" A lone tear trailed down her cheek. A term's worth of anger was crashing out of her mouth like waves. "None of you have even asked me how  _ I  _ felt about this! Cedric was my brother's  _ best  _ friend! My entire life is falling apart and you're supposed to be my friends!" Draco's arm clutched her protectively as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Katie, we–"

"No!" Katie interrupted, rising from the table quickly. "Just forget it. I thought you'd be happy for me." Draco stood up beside her, picking up the box and the dress from the table. He wrapped his arms around her again and began to lead her out of the Great Hall.

***

Draco was back in his dorm room. It had worked.

"Good work, Draco," his mother praised from the mirror. "You got her away from her friends?"

"Yes," Draco said quietly, not meeting his mother's eye. "Even if they forgive her, I'll make sure she doesn't forgive them."

His insides were in knots. He felt awful. The night earlier, his mother had spoken with him for the first time in months. His father was out on Ministry business.

When he'd seen Katie in the Great Hall, his mother's words had been ringing in his ears. ' _ Get her away from the others. Once she's alone, she'll be yours. _ '

However, now that he had done it, none of the relief he thought he'd feel was there. He was one step closer to his goal, and yet he didn't feel right leaving this girl in his place.

"Mother," he said, softly. "Why am I doing this? Why am I hurting her?" His mother was silent for a second.

"Draco," she said, a motherly tone coming out. "I know it hurts, Draco, I know. But you know why you must do this. It's her or you. I will not lose my son." He could tell his mother was biting back tears. His mother had always been soft and caring to him, while his father was cruel. Now that he was older, it was only when his father was out of the house that they could speak freely, as his father thought it was unbecoming of him to be so attached to his mother.

"I know, Mother," Draco said solemnly. He knew that. It  _ was  _ him or her. And yet, for some reason, he didn't want it to be her anymore than he wanted it to be him.

***

Meanwhile, Katie sat in her bed, curtains drawn around her four-poster. Tears were streaming down her face silently as her dorm mates talked loudly, unaware she was there.

"Malfoy?" Susan said in disbelief. "Draco Malfoy?"

"I know! I couldn't believe it either!" Hannah gushed. "He had his hands all over her."

"What happened to Justin?" their other dorm mate, Cara Kettleburn, said loudly. Cara was the niece of the old Care of Magical Creatures professor, and spent most of her time with her sister, who had been sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Apparently he knew!" Hannah said. "Saw them snogging at the first task!" The three girls started laughing.

"Wonder how he is in bed," Hannah said, suggestively. "He's got to be amazing right? I mean, with all the girls he's been with, he's got to be."

Katie rolled her eyes. How could they be talking about him in bed when they were so disgusted with him? If they could understand that, couldn't they understand that he made her happy? She felt gutted. 

As if on cue, a green flower appeared on the end of her bed with a note tied to the stem.

_ Come to the lake. Wear something warm. _

_ D.M. _

Katie smiled to herself at her boyfriend's handwriting. Katie was already dressed in her pyjamas and going out to get her clothes while the girls were talking about her meters away seemed impossible. Swallowing her pride, Katie opened one of the curtains around her bed and grabbed her cloak from the drawer beside her. Her Hufflepuff hat and scarf were in her trunk at the foot of her bed. She slung the cloak over her pyjamas, an old Holyhead Harpies T-Shirt and long plaid pants, and stepped out of her bed.

The room went silent.

"Oh, don't stop on my account," she said indignantly. She marched to the front of her bed and threw open her trunk. Her hat and scarf sat neatly on top; she grabbed them hastily and tore out of the dorm room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hannah's horrified face as she ran out of the room.


	15. Chapter Fifteen - December 2nd

Katie was shivering as she snuck out of the castle. Despite taking Draco's advice, she was still freezing in the December air. Her feet crunched in the snow as she tiptoed down from the castle to the edge of the lake. She found a path of footprints leading around the rim of the lake away from the castle.

"Draco?" she called, her voice soft. They were a good distance away from the castle, far enough that they wouldn't be seen from any of the windows, yet she was still wary of being caught. "Draco!"

"I'm right here, darling," a voice whispered as two arms wrapped around her waist. "No need to shout." Katie turned in his arms and leaned up to give her boyfriend a kiss.

"Why'd you send me the flower? As much as I like seeing you, it's cold as fuck out here," Katie laughed. Malfoy slipped his hand into his coat pocket. He wore a fur lined leather coat, it looked quite expensive. Draco pulled out a small bag with something green inside.

"Muggle's call it weed," he said, nonchalantly. "The Weasley twins sold it to me. Well, they didn't really sell it so much as Crabbe stole it." The boy laughed. He put the bag back into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a cigarette. He pulled his wand out of his pocket. "Here, hold this." Katie opened one of her hands to accept the joint. Instead, he put it between her lips.

"Suck." It came out as a command and sent sparks throughout her body down to her pussy. She obeyed. " _ Incendio, _ " he whispered as a flame kept out of the top of his wand and lit the joint. Katie inhaled the smoke into her lungs. She felt it burn and coughed it up. Malfoy doubled over with laughter.

"Come on," he said, taking the joint between his fingers. "Like this." He brought it to his lips and inhaled deeply, held it in for a few seconds, before exhaling a cloud of smoke.

Katie took the joint back and inhaled. She felt the burn in her throat again but fought it, and held her breath. When she finally exhaled, another cough came out with it. Malfoy gave another laugh. All of a sudden, Katie felt warm. Her body seemed to move in slow motion, every sensation feeling a million times better than it did sober. A giggle came out of her mouth without her realizing.

"Like it, do you?" Malfoy chuckled, clearly not sober. "Crabbe and I tried it last year. As much as I hate muggles, they've got this right." He wrapped his arms around the small girl, bringing her into his chest. He inhaled her scent deeply, letting it wash over him. It was sweet.

"Draco," he heard her say. "Do you love me?" The question came as a shock to both of them. Katie knew it was the weed making her speak, but it was a question that had been bothering her since that morning. The blonde boy sucked air through his teeth, caught off guard– luckily the girl was too high to notice.

"You saw the flowers, didn't you?" he murmured against the top of her head. "They only bloom... when you're in love." A sharp pain struck the boy's heart. He hated lying to her. Every time he did, he found himself sounding more and more like his father.

"But," she continued, her words slightly slurred. "Then... if you've loved me since then, or since?" Her sentences weren't making sense. She struggled to form a coherent thought. "When? When did you know? You change at Halloween, you know." She was giggling and rambling now. "You got so clingy, it was strange."

"Couldn't I just want to be near you?" He tilted her head to meet his. "Since that night, when you let me..." he trailed off. She knew what he meant; the night she let him fuck her. "That night, you were different. You'd changed too, Coventry." He met her lips with a soft kiss.

"Of course I did," she babbled, clearly intoxicated. "Jack came back and told me... Draco, my parents did terrible things." All the giddiness left her. "They're like yours."

"I know, love," the boy said, stroking her blonde hair. "It's okay, you've already told me."

"But I haven't," the girl whispered. "Draco, they killed people. That blood, that dirty blood, that's what's running through my veins."

"It's alright, sweetheart." The boy considered his next words. Something was rising inside him, fuelled by his intoxicated state, dying to escape his lips. "We don't have to become what our parents were."

He knew he wasn't saying that for her. He finally admitted it to himself. No matter what his father wanted from him, no matter what the Dark Lord wanted, he wasn't going to hurt this girl. He was not evil.

They stood silent in each other's arms, finishing the joint. The giddiness of their intoxication returned, making Katie giggle.

"Draco," she giggled. "You've met my friends, why haven't I met yours? Trying to keep me a secret?"

"Darling, don't you remember how well that went?" he purred. "Your friends didn't seem to like me very much, Coventry."

"That just means I'll need new ones," she said, matter-of-factly. A smirk spread across the Hufflepuff's face. "Yours'll do." She said it casually, imitating the drawl that Draco often used. The boy laughed. He roughly grabbed the girl's hair, forcing her head up to meet his.

"You think you're ready for a room full of Slytherins, little girl?" He loomed over her, dominating her. The girl below him simply smirked.

"Call my bluff."

***

The two intoxicated students slipped quietly back into the school. The darted down hallway after hallway and, after a narrow escape from Mrs. Norris, found themselves at the door to the Slytherin common room. Faint music could be heard coming from the other side.

"You ready for this?" Malfoy asked, standing between the Hufflepuff and the door. "Even wearing... that?" Katie glanced down. She was still wearing her pyjamas. Despite her obvious intoxication, an embarrassed blush crept across her cheeks.

"I–" she stuttered.

"Shh..." The boy held a finger to her lips. "Just... wait here." The boy gave her a kiss on the head and slipped through the door. The music got momentarily louder before being deafened again by the dark oak door.

Katie stood in the hallway, half hidden, waiting for the boy to return. She wrapped her cloak more tightly around her, not used to the chill of the Slytherin dungeons. She felt as though she was spinning, the weed still having an effect on her. It reminded her of riding a broom, she felt light and airy. Katie leaned back against the cold dungeon wall and closed her eyes, feeling it through her clothes.

"Comfortable, are we?" Malfoy's drawling voice mocked from somewhere in front of her. She opened her eyes to see Draco standing in front of her, having changed out of his leather coat, and was now wearing tight, long sleeved Weird Sisters T-Shirt and black jeans. She'd never seen him dressed so informal. The dark fabric clung to his lean muscles, hardened from years of quidditch training, while the dark denim accentuated his long legs. Whether it was the weed or not, the smell of his cologne seemed to overwhelm her. He was gorgeous.

"Come here," he laughed, noticing her checking him out. "I got you clothes." She failed to notice that in his hand he held two pieces of fabric, one green and the other black. "Had to steal the skirt from Pansy, but I doubt she'll notice."

Katie took the clothes in her hand and admired them; a black hogwarts skirt, the one he must've stolen, and a Slytherin quidditch training jersey. She flipped the shirt around quickly. MALFOY 07 was printed in silver letters on the back. Katie blushed.

"Your jersey, hmm?" she giggled. "Won't  _ Pansy  _ be jealous, another girl wearing your name." Katie poked his arm playfully.

"You heard me the other day, didn't you?" A devilish smirk came across his face. "I'm done with her." Katie reached up and kissed him hungrily, edged on by the drugs. It was Malfoy who finally broke the kiss.

"Get changed, darling," he whispered against her lips. "They're waiting for us."

"But... we're in the hallway?" Katie said, pulling away and peering around.

"Thought you liked the risk?" he whispered, pushing her cloak off her shoulders. "Come on, no one'll come down here, and I'll even hold the door shut." He took a step back and placed his large frame against the door. The look in his eye was making her bold. Without breaking eye contact, Katie lifted her shirt off her body, letting it drop to the floor.

The cold air made her nipples stiffen instantly. She had forgotten that she'd taken her bra off back in her dorm. Draco's eyes widened at the sight. He'd never properly seen her. They'd always been in dark rooms, tiny closets, or not fully naked. Now, seeing her exposed, he felt himself pressing against his jeans.

Katie untied the string around her plaid pants and let them fall off her hips to the floor. Draco watched as they trailed down her thighs, his breathing getting heavier as he watched. She was standing completely exposed in the hallway, naked except for a pair of black lace panties, all for him. He made a move to go towards her before she put her finger up.

"Hmm, no, you said you'd stay over there and watch the door," she said quietly, a sultry look on her face. She turned around, giving him a full view of her ass, before bending over to pick up the fresh clothes she dropped earlier. She slid the black skirt around her feet and pulled it up her body slowly, letting him see every movement. She could hear him swallow a growl behind her. She leaned down again and picked up his green jersey. She turned and lifted her arms over her head, letting the jersey slide slowly down her body until she was fully dressed. When she finally looked back at the boy, his eyes were dark and hooded. His body left the door and hid her pinned to the wall in a second.

"You're going to pay for that later, Coventry," he growled in her ear. He left a hungry kiss on her neck before releasing her. Katie giggled and gathered her clothes and wrapped her cloak back around her shoulders. Draco took the clothes from her hands gently. "I'll put these away, love." The look in his eye told her he was definitely not just putting them away.

The Slytherin stood in front of her and pushed the heavy door open. The common room was nothing like she remembered it. Now, it was full of people dancing, flirting, snogging, and getting intoxicated. The smell of weed mixed with Fire Whiskey hit her nose hard, making her gag. Malfoy snickered beside her.

"Too much for you, love?" His hand came down to her waist and he urged her further into the room. Katie shook her head and stepped into the dark common room. She could feel eyes on her almost immediately.

"Malfoy!" a boy called from one of the black leather couches in the middle of the room. "Finally back, mate! Com'ere I wanna introduce someone." The boy was slurring profusely.

"You're embarrassing yourself, Blaise," Draco drawled. "No one wants your drunk, sweaty hands on them." Draco pushed Katie towards the centre couches. Blaise sat in the middle of one, his arms wrapped around two obviously intoxicated girls. The girl on the left, a blonde from Ravenclaw who was at least a year younger, was kissing up the boy's neck. The other, a dark haired, 5th year Gryffindor, was eyeing Draco up and down, her eyes dark. Katie clenched her fist.

From the corner of his eye, Draco could see the Hufflepuff girl glaring at the Gryffindor. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Play nice, I'll be right back." Katie shot him a warning glance.  _ Do not leave me alone with them. _ With a chuckle, Draco rubbed a small, comforting circle on her lower back, before heading up the dormitory stairs. Katie stood awkwardly near the couch, much of her intoxication gone from the anxiety of the moment.

"Switched Houses did we, Coventry?" a voice said from behind her. Katie turned to see a tall boy with dark, wavy hair approaching her. His blue eyes shone in comparison to his dark features and clothing. "I could've sworn you were one of those soft Huffle-fluffs. Finally come to your senses, joined the proper house for a pureblood?" The nickname for her house made her scoff. People always assumed since she was in Hufflepuff, she must be weak; if they only knew the truth of what Hufflepuffs could become.

The boy was directly in front of her now, long arm outstretched for a handshake. Katie tentatively shook his hand, her hand tiny in his. "Nott. You should've known that though." She did, though not well. Theodore Nott was in her potions class, as well as every other class she shared with the Slytherins, but she'd never even met his eye let alone spoken to him.

"Katie," she introduced herself. "Still a Hufflepuff though, sorry." She let out an awkward laugh and let go of his hand. The boy rubbed the back of his neck, smirking.

"Shame," he said, lowering his arm and pulling something from his denim jacket pocket. A small bottle of Fire Whiskey. "Waste of your talents, really. I've seen you in Potions, you're good.  _ Slytherin  _ good." He laughed. "Come on, drink. You're the most sober here, and we can't have that, now can we?" His tone was flirty as he uncapped the bottle and held it out for her.

Katie hesitated. She'd never tasted Fire Whiskey before, didn't know how it felt to be drunk. She couldn't help but feel a wave of fear creep over her; she was alone in a room filled with some of the cruelest students in the castle, surely losing control of her senses wouldn't be a good idea. Then, another thought crossed her. These were the people her parents joined, or at least their children. She allowed herself to look around. Now, in the hazy, smoke filled air, they didn't look so bad. Sneering looks were replaced with drunken laughs, cruel insults with hearty smiles. Katie took the bottle from the smiling boy's hand.

"No, we can't have that," she felt herself say, a false confidence pushing the words out. She brought the bottle to her lips and allowed the liquid to flow down her throat, burning all the way to her stomach.

***

Draco put the girl's clothes in the back of one of his drawers. He could hear the loud music from the common room faintly pounding from his dorm. He set his wand down on the nightstand next to his bed, and sat down. His buzz had worn off much earlier in the night, making him frustratingly sober. He hated when the House did this, these stupid parties. How could they pretend to be regular students, not when their parents knew what was coming. He ran his hand through his hair, lost in thought.

Soon, they'd all be forced to choose, all of those stupid, drunken schoolchildren, whether or not to follow the Dark Lord. He knew many of them, like him, believed in everything the Dark Lord said. Crabbe and Goyle would no doubt join him. Blaise too. But what of the younger students, the first years, who didn't even have a chance to understand the Dark Lord's beliefs, let alone his plans? He wanted to hit something. Why had he been cursed to know all of this? Why couldn't he be a normal teenager? Why did he have to lie and scheme and hurt people, just to save his own life? The thoughts were making him sick.

A knock sounded on his door, distracting him from his torturous thoughts. He watched as it was slowly pushed open and a small figure slipped in. He turned from the door quickly, hoping she didn't catch his eye.

"Thought I told you to wait for me, Coventry?" he said, feigning confidence.

"Coventry?" the girl purred. "What do you want her for?" Draco snapped his head back. Pansy was leaning against the dark wooden door, clothes disheveled as though she had already been with several other guys that night. The smell of alcohol coming from her wafted towards him.

"Get out of here, Parkinson," Draco growled, standing from his bed. "I mean it. I don't want you, or your sex, or your stupid parties!  _ Move on!"  _ Pansy looked taken aback for a moment before regaining her sultry gaze.

"Oh, but Draco," she cooed, stepping towards him. "You always have so much fun once you let go." She produced a cup from behind her that smelled strongly of alcohol. She was right. Once he started drinking, once he let go of everything he was worrying about, he did have fun with her. He reached to accept the cup. "That's it," she praised. Draco took a long drink.

He felt it burn down his throat. He knew it would take a lot more than one drink to get him drunk, but even the warm feeling that came with the whiskey was nice. Draco sat back down on his green sheets.

"What do you want, Pansy," he said, his voice less harsh.

"Isn't it obvious," she chirped, crossing the room and coming to straddle him on his bed. " _ You. _ "

Her soft lips descended onto him. He felt her hands twist up into his hair, while her hips began to move on top of him. She tried to force him down onto the bed, when his hand came up to grab her by the throat.

"You're pathetic, Parkinson," he spat. "You have no idea what you're doing, what you're  _ ruining _ , by doing this. You're a dumb, little girl messing with grown up things, Pansy."

"Are you talking about Coventry?" she choked, moving off him and out of his reach. "Is that what this is about? Do you actually  _ care  _ about–"

"It's none of your business. It's bigger than you, Pansy. You don't understand what I'm doing here, you're too busy getting drunk and shagging anyone you can get your hands on."

"Apparently Coventry's  _ 'too busy' _ doing that too." Pansy gave a knowing smirk.

"What," Draco growled, trying to control his breathing. "Did you just say?"

"When I came in here, I saw her  _ all over  _ Theo," Pansy said, sounding like a schoolgirl. "Drunk. Basically throwing herself on him." She let out a high pitched laugh. Draco threw himself off the bed, grabbing his wand and storming from the dormitory.


	16. Chapter Sixteen - December 2nd

~tw: sexual assault~

Green swirled in front of Katie's eyes. She knew she was sitting on one of the leather couches in the common room, but she couldn't feel it beneath her. To one side of her, Theodore Nott sat with his arm wrapped over her shoulders. To the other, Blaise Zabini had his hand on one of her legs. She didn't feel either of them.

Between the bottle of Fire Whiskey supplied by Theo and a second joint passed to her from Blaise, Katie was beyond intoxicated. Beside her, Theo's mouth was on her neck. She felt his hot breath and wet tongue on her skin. She leaned into the contact, enjoying the feeling. This numbness was better than any she ever felt from Malfoy.

Theo kissed her neck softly, very differently than how Draco did. Meanwhile, Blaise's hand was moving steadily up her leg. His touch, too, was softer than Malfoy's. She could feel everything and nothing at the same time.

"Come on, love," Theo purred in her ear. "Blaise and I share a room. We can take this somewhere more...  _ private _ ." His hand moved to take hers, urging her to stand. Blaise took her other hand and lifted the girl up to standing. She wobbled on her feet, dizzy at the sudden movement. The two boys steadied her before starting to move towards the dormitory stairs. Katie couldn't tell if she was walking or if they were moving her.

The stairs swam into view. Her mind wandered to the last time she had gone up them... Draco was by her side. Where was he now?

"Draco?" The two boys heard the soft, slurred word escape the girl's mouth.

"Shhh," Blaise cooed. "Don't worry about Malfoy now, sweetheart." He gave Theo a knowing glance. Katie's vision swirled again.

***

"Pansy, where the fuck is she?" Draco yelled as he returned to his dorm. Pansy sat quietly on the edge of his bed, a smirk plastered to her face. "She wasn't out there, so either you're lying or you're up to something." He pressed his wand under her chin. "Which is it?"

"And you call  _ me  _ pathetic," she laughed, swatting his wand away. "You go running out there like some Romeo over a silly, little Hufflepuff? They were right, you've gone soft."

" _ They? _ Pansy, I swear to god–"

"Oh, come off it, Malfoy." The girl flicked her black hair and started picking at her nails. "It's for your own good! Maybe if you stopped shagging her for five minutes you'd realize there's a lot going on outside of your little love affair–"

"Don't try to tell me there's a lot going on. I know a hell of a lot more than you do about what's going on, Pansy. You don't know what you're messing with here."

"Then tell me, Draco! You never tell anyone anything anymore! We're your  _ friends!  _ We'll understand whatever it is more than that little softy will! My parents were with the Dark Lord too, so if it's something about that–"

"Watch it, Pansy," Draco glowered. "You're dangerously close to something you don't want to be a part of–"

"Don't tell me what I want! I want to help you!"

"Fine!" he finally exclaimed. "You want to help me? Help me find her!"

"But-"

"No." He shot her a warning look. "I'm not going to explain myself. Just help me find the girl. And would it kill you to be nice to her?  _ That  _ would help me." Pansy huffed to herself, considering her options. Draco knew there was a better chance of Potter growing wings and flying away than there was of Pansy Parkinson being nice to a girl Draco was interested in, especially a Hufflepuff.

"She's in Blaise and Theo's room," she finally admitted. "They were going to get her drunk, take her up there, and... I don't know, they didn't have to say anymore." Draco's eyes seemed to go red.

***

"Come on, take this off, sweetheart. Can't have you wearing Malfoy's name, now can we?"

Katie felt fingers on the hem of her shirt, pulling it up over her head.

"Wow," one of the boys tutted. "It's a shame Malfoy's been keeping you all to himself."

"We're gonna have to change that, aren't we mate," the other boy cooed, his hand coming to her skin. He was warm, different from Draco. Katie was paralyzed, laying on her back on one of the boys beds– she wasn't sure which. She must have been slipped something; every other time she'd been drunk she hadn't felt this out of control. Or maybe it was the combination of the drugs and the alcohol. Either way, she was helpless.

A mouth came down on her neck, sucking and biting the skin. The other was hiking her skirt up, exposing her panties.

"Dress like this for Malfoy, hmm?" the boy said. "I'm just  _ gutted  _ he won't get to see it." The boys snickered. Hands were roaming her body as she was powerless to stop them. She tried to hold her eyes open but they kept fluttering shut.

Two hands came hard on her hips from near her head, pushing her into the mattress. She tried to move out of their reach but failed. One of the boys laughed.

"Feisty, isn't she," the one near her waist laughed. The other, leaning over her with his legs planted firmly on either side of her head, held her waist tighter. She felt warm air against her panties. She wiggled and tried to move but it was pointless. Fingers began to move her panties aside, exposing her, as a hot breath brushed against her. A tongue pressed against her, making her shiver.

"How does she taste?" the boy holding her down laughed.

"Exactly how you think, mate." She felt the head between her legs raise, his position on the bed changing. Katie heard one zipper, near her head, followed by the one between her knees.

"Open up now, be a good girl." One of the hands from her waist came to her jaw, holding it open. The hand on her hip was replaced by the other boy, while his other was pushing her panties to the side. Katie tried to brace herself against what was coming, but she was completely immobile.

_ BANG _

Red light flashed across the room as the boy between her legs was thrown across the room.

"Malfoy! Jesu–"

" _ Levicorpus _ !" The body near her head was lifted from the mattress. "Theodore Nott, you disgusting, slimy, bastard." Katie finally recognized one of the voices;  _ Malfoy _ .

"It was a joke! How'd you– Pansy was supposed to–"

"Pansy was what? Keeping me busy? Sorry I'm not as pathetic as you lot to sleep with anyone I get  _ drunk enough  _ to not realize what's happening!" Katie could hear something being tossed through the air over and over, followed by someone screaming.

"Keep your hands off her, ' _ mate' _ ," Draco spat, dropping Theodore to the ground.

"Malfoy, we–"

" _ Stupefy _ !" Another blast of red light came from Draco's wand and hit Theodore, making him crumple. Katie struggled to move to put her clothes back down, but failed miserably. In an instant she felt the weight of another person on the bed, pushing her legs back together and covering her up with her skirt. She felt him pick her torso up before the soft fabric of the jersey slid back down to cover her. A soft cry came from the girl as he brought the shirt down her body and his hands inadvertently brushed against her hips; soft, purple bruises were beginning to form in the shape of handprints.

"Shh," Draco shushed, pulling the girl into his chest. "It's alright now, darling, come here." He ran his fingers through her short, blonde hair, trying to comfort the obviously intoxicated girl. "Come," he said quietly, picking her up into his arms.

He brought the girl back to his dorm and laid her down gently on his bed. She had finally lost consciousness. A smile played across his cheeks, seeing her chest rising and falling softly.

***

Katie woke up alone. Though she was certain she fell asleep in her boyfriend's arms, they were nowhere in sight now. Katie stretched against the soft, green sheets, her head feeling heavy. She had a pounding headache. As she brought herself to a sitting position, she took a moment to figure out where she was.

She recognized Draco's bedroom. Fear was the first emotion she registered. She felt a twinge on her cheek, a reminder of her first time in this room. However, it was quickly assuaged as her memory came back to her. Draco was her boyfriend now, not the shameless boy who seduced and humiliated her in this room.

Her eyes focused on the desk against one wall of the room; a vial and small note had been placed on the top, next to her wand. Shakily, Katie rose from the bed and walked to the desk, practically falling on it. She steadied herself against the solid wood before picking up the small, folded note.

_ Drink this, you'll feel better. _

_ D.M. _

She lifted the vial from the desk and examined its contents. A whitish liquid with green flecks sloshed in the bottle. Her mind reactively went back to the last time she drank an unknown potion in that room, how it alighted a fire beneath her skin and left her senseless.  _ No, he's not like that anymore.  _ She repeated the words in her head until they felt true. Finally, she downed the potion. All the effects that the leftover drugs and alcohol had on her were gone in an instant. Calm flooded from her mouth throughout her whole body. She placed the vial down on the desk again, letting the relief wash over her. As she stretched her aching muscles, she felt a sharp pain in her hips. She lifted her shirt to find hand shaped bruises covering her light skin.

Where had they come from? She tried to force her mind back but she couldn't seem to remember. Had Draco left these? And where was he? She couldn't answer any of her questions. She moved to the only window in the dark room. As she peered through the murky water, she realized it must not be morning yet. Why had Draco left? The Hufflepuff shivered in the cold room.

Katie went to the trunk in front of Draco's bed and found a large, emerald jumper folded neatly on top. Though Mrs. MacMillan had knitted her several over the years, she'd never felt a jumper that was as soft and luxurious as this. She pulled the fabric over her head and let it fall into place right above the hem of the skirt she was still wearing. Katie admired herself in a standing mirror placed in one corner of the room, liking the way the clothes fell on her body. She inhaled deeply, Malfoy's scent still deep within the clothes.

The girl pulled her flats on, which had been placed neatly beside the door, and left the room. The hallway was dark, most of the dark, wooden dorm room doors closed. She closed Draco's door behind her, pulling her wand from her back pocket.

" _ Lumos,"  _ she whispered as a tiny orb of light appeared at the end of her wand, illuminating the hallway. The music and noise from earlier was gone, all Katie could hear was faint snoring. That, and soft shouting from a dorm near the end of the hall. It was a few boys yelling, a girl too.

" _ You blew it!"  _ one voice called. " _ We were trying to help you, mate! Everyone thinks you've gone soft! You're a bloody MALFOY, a fucking Slytherin prince, mate! You're off shagging some Huffle-fluff orphan, making us all look bad!" _

_ "He's right!"  _ the girl added. " _ No one takes me seriously anymore." _

_ "No one ever did, Pans,"  _ a second boy laughed.

" _ Shut up. All of you."  _ This voice was much calmer than the others. Much cooler.  _ Draco. _ Katie's heart quickened. She recognized the other two boys' voices, however it was as though from a dream. Regardless, the voices filled her with dread. She had to know more. What were they talking about? Katie grabbed her wand and approached the door containing the yelling.

" _ You're all messing with something you don't understand! _ " Katie heard Draco yell from inside the room.

_ "Nox,"  _ Katie whispered as she got to the door. It was open only a crack. She paused right before the door frame and leaned to peak in the room. It was a dorm room similar to Draco's, except there were two beds rather than one.  _ Spoiled Slytherins, _ she thought to herself,  _ Hufflepuffs sleep five to a room, we'd never get double rooms, let alone single. _

"You keep saying that, mate," one of the boys in the room responded. "'We don't know what we're messing with!' Why don't you tell us then! We'll stop messing with you and Huffle-fluff if you just tell us!" Katie's heart dropped as she heard Draco take a deep breath.

"Look," he started. Katie could tell he was choosing his words carefully. "The girl is important, okay? Not to me. To the Dark Lord."

_ 'Not to me. To the Dark Lord.'  _ The words rang in her ears over and over. She refused to believe that it was true. Draco cared for her. He had to.

"The Dark Lord is dead, Draco," Pansy whispered, as though frightened to even say the nickname.

"For now," he said coldly. "But he's coming back. Soon. And once he's back, I'm going to take my father's place at his right hand side."

"Bollocks," a boy interrupted. "Even if the Dark Lord comes back, why would he want a slimy git like you as his right hand man?"

"You're a fool, Blaise. The Dark Lord requested me, specifically. He  _ chose  _ me. Potter  _ thinks _ he's the  _ chosen one _ , but he's wrong."

"Right, fine. But what about the girl, mate?"

"She's nothing. She's a pawn for the Dark Lord. Do you see why you can't mess this up for me? If I can't deliver her willingly to the Dark Lord, well, he's not the forgiving type." The group half laughed.

"Luckily for you lot," Draco continued. "I am. If you and Theo hadn't tried to shag her, real classy by the way, I could've had her in the Dark Lord's arms by Christmas. Why do you think I brought her here? She has to trust us, and our families, or none of this works. Look, I'm going home after the Ball, and if I can't get her to come with me, I'm blaming all of  _ you _ . You better  _ hope  _ I've gone soft."

"Christ, Malfoy," Theo said. "Don't you think we could've helped you? If we knew the Dark Lord wanted the girl, we could've helped you befriend her. You don't have to do everything on your own, mate."

"Right," Draco scoffed. "I'll remember that next time I introduce you to a girl. What were you thinking! Drugging her to shag her? Did you really think Pansy would be able to distract me?"

The floor seemed to give out beneath Katie. Her mouth went dry as she processed it all. Draco was using her, manipulating her. Forcing her to be a 'pawn' for You-Know-Who. Worse, his friends had tried to... She couldn't bring herself to think about it. As the realization swept over her, the dark hallway started to close in on her. She needed to get out of there. She took a step backwards away from the door and–

CRACK

The floor creaked under her. She heard the Slytherins in the room freeze, before footsteps began to approach the door. Katie stopped breathing, moving as quietly as possible away from the door against the wall. She tried to think of the Concealment Charm Mrs. MacMillan used to hide Christmas presents before Christmas Day but she blanked. Katie prayed they wouldn't see her.

"Who's there?" Draco's voice sounded down the seemingly empty hallway. He walked out of the room and peered the length of the hall. It appeared to be empty. "I heard you. Come out.  _ Now. _ " He walked further down the hallway, wand clutched in his hand. Whoever it was had just heard everything– his plan, the Dark Lord, everything. He heard his footsteps echoing heavily on the wood floor. " _ Lumos."  _ His wand lit instantly. Some length down the hall, he could see a dark figure, pressed against the wall trying to slip away.

"Stupefy!" Red shot from the end of his wand, hitting the person. Draco watched as they crumpled to the ground with a thud. He strolled over to the body, trying to mask his fear of being found out. The person fell face down, all he could see was a mess of blonde hair, bare legs and a green jumper that–

_ His _ green jumper. He flipped the girl over, praying it not to be who he feared it was. Limp in his arms, Katie lay with her eyes closed, stunned. Draco slammed his fist against the wall. She had heard everything. It was no longer him or her. Now, it was unavoidably him.


	17. Chapter Seventeen - December 3rd

Draco paced the length of his room. On his bed, Katie lay still unconscious, however her arms had been tied to his headboard, and slumped limply against the restraints. Her wand was stashed in his pocket, in case she decided to wake up again. Draco had stunned her three times already in an attempt to stall the inevitable.

It was Sunday afternoon by now. He had only a few more hours before someone would realize she was missing. After spending much of the last night and morning pacing, he had managed to come up with no ideas on how to convince her what she heard was a lie. Even worse, he hadn't come up with any ideas on how to tell his father he blew it. A cold sweat trickled down his neck.

Draco looked at the girl on his bed. Less than twenty-four hours earlier, he had left her sleeping peacefully on this bed in order to deal with the mess his friends had made. How could he have known she would wake up? With the amount of alcohol and drugs in her system, he was certain she would sleep until morning. He even left a note so she wouldn't come looking for him. He'd done everything right.

_ Except _ , he thought painfully,  _ I trusted those dimwits to keep the door shut.  _ He felt like an idiot for telling them everything. And yet, he knew it wasn't everything. He hadn't told them how she was meant to be a replacement for him. He hadn't told them how awful all of this was making him feel. Instead, he acted as though his heart was in it. Of course, that would make it much harder to try to explain to Katie.

"I've got it," Blaise shouted, crashing through the door. "I know what to do!"

"Merlin, Blaise," Malfoy shouted back, closing the door behind his friend. "Can't you knock?"

"No time, I figured it out." He slammed a book down on Draco's desk, flipping it open to a bookmarked page.  _ Memory Charms  _ was written delicately along the top.

"A Memory Charm, Blaise?" he scoffed. "Don't you think that's a little risky? Neither of us are very good at charms."

"No, mate, that's the beauty of it. I have it all worked out. Trust me." Draco gave him a hesitant look before sitting down on his bed and letting him continue. "Right, so we're not good at charms, but know who is? Granger. So if we get her to–"

"Granger? Mudblood Granger? How are  _ we  _ going to convince goody-two-shoes Granger to sneak into the Slytherin dormitories and do a Memory Charm on an unconscious Huffle–"

"Would you just listen? Look, you go to Granger, tell her what happened, with me and Theo that is, tell her you were too late to stop it. Don't tell her she was unconscious, tell her she can remember it. Beg her to do it because you 'love her', right? No way she's going to turn you down, they're friends. Say you put her to sleep with some potion so she wouldn't have to think about it, get Granger to do the charm, and there! Problem solved." Draco had to admit, it could work.

"But what if Granger asks her about it?"

"She won't. Granger's too nice to make her relive it, especially if she thinks that she might remember it."

"What about Coventry? Won't she feel that her memory's been tampered with?"

"That's the beauty of it, mate, she was drinking. All she'll think is that it was a bad hangover. You just tell Granger to erase everything from after she met Theo and the last thing she'll remember is him getting her drunk. It's foolproof." Draco felt a hint of confidence creeping back into him. "Best part is, she won't know what happened last night at all. We'll tell her it was a great time. Me, Theo, and Pans will befriend her. And done, you've got her in the Dark Lord's arms by Christmas."

" _ Relashio _ ." The ropes fell from Katie's arms. "You're lucky this time, Zabini," Draco joked. "If you hadn't come up with anything, my plan was to kick the shit out of you in front of her, try to win her back."

"Very funny, Malfoy," Blaise said blandly. " C'mon, I saw Granger in the library when I got this book."

***

"Please, Granger, you're much better than I am at charms," Draco mock pleaded. The girl beside him in the library shuddered. Draco made his face sorrowful, desperate to convince the Gryffindor.

"Draco, I... I've never done a memory charm before. I wouldn't even know how," Hermione responded, unable to meet his eye. Over her shoulder, Malfoy saw Blaise mocking his every move. He was hidden from Hermione behind a bookshelf. If she saw him, they're story would be ruined.

"Please, Hermione," he said softly, hoping that using her first name would soften her. "I love her. I left her for only a second and when I got back she was gone." That second part wasn't a lie. "I just wasn't quick enough."

"Then it is your fault," Hermione said coldly, focusing back on the book in front of her. It was some rubbish about house-elf liberation. "What were you thinking bringing her down there anyways? Katie's been fragile lately, with her brother being gone and..." She trailed off. He could tell she didn't trust him.

"And her becoming a Seer. I know everything, Granger, she's my girlfriend." He was laying it on thick, hoping she couldn't see through him. "Hermione, I love her. She's your friend. You have to help me." He watched the girl stiffen.

"Alright," she finally said. "Alright, I'll help. Take me down to her." She closed the book in front of her and stood up. She peered hesitantly around the library, narrowly missing Blaise, who jumped behind a stack of books before she could see him.

***

"Draco, why is she asleep!" Hermione's voice was angry. "What have you done to her? It was all a trick wasn't it?"

"No, I gave her a Calming Draught," he said, quickly grabbing the empty vial from the desk that once contained his hangover cure, a potion of his own creation. "She was distraught, I had to do something. As rubbish as I am at charms, Potions have always been my best subject. I think I even had you beat for a while."

"Only cause Professor Snape plays favourites," she said under her breath. Draco snickered at her obvious jealousy. "Whatever, show me the spell." Draco grabbed the book from his desk and put it on the bed in front of Hermione. As she knelt down to read the instructions, Draco quickly stashed Katie's wand in one of the drawers in his desk. The last thing he needed was Hermione asking questions he couldn't explain.

"Alright, alright, I think I can do this," Hermione finally said, pulling her wand from her pocket. She stood over the sleeping girl, whispering the spell over and over while practicing the wand motion.

" _ Obliviate _ ," Hermione whispered, pale white light radiating out of her wand. Draco watched as Katie's face softened. The light faded from Hermione's wand as Katie let out a small breath, still unconscious. "There. She won't remember a thing."

"Thank you, Hermione," Draco said coolly, running a cold hand through his hair.

"Don't bring up anything that happened after you brought her here, it could upset her because she won't remember it." Hermione thought for a second. "Although, I don't know how well Memory Charms work on Seers. I don't know if it's ever been done." Fear crept back into Draco's chest. What if she woke up and remembered? What would he do then?

"Thank you, Granger, it means a lot," Draco said sarcastically.

"Whatever. I want something in return," she said matter of factly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"There was no deal. Now, unless you want me to tell Harry where I've been all day, and you know how much he'll love that I've been with you, you're going to do what I say."

"Fine," Draco snipped. "What do you want."

"S.P.E.W." she said firmly.

"Spew? Is that some sort of sex position? You're not really my type, Granger, though can't say I'm surprised you want a break from Weasley–"

"That's none of your business," she interrupted, her cheeks going red. "And it's S.P.E.W. not spew. It's the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. I want you to join." A smirk crossed her face.

"Elvish Welfare," Draco sputtered, a laugh coming out halfway through. "What? You think house-elves are being mistreated?"

"They are! They're slaves! Why should they be forced to do our labour when they're not even allowed to have wands!"

"Because they like it! It's what they do! First Potter goes and frees our elf, now you want them to... what? Rise up! You've got quite the imagination, Granger."

"Families like yours are the reason we need S.P.E.W.! It doesn't matter, Malfoy! You're going to join my club or I'm going to tell Harry!"

"Fine, I'll join your bloody club. When do we meet." He plastered a sarcastic smile to his face, making Hermione frown.

"Here," she said, pulling a badge from her pocket. "Wear it. That's all I want." Draco took the badge and turned it over. S.P.E.W. was written in green letters.

"Sorry, my robes' already full," he smirked, throwing the badge down on his desk. "Have to show my support for the  _ real  _ Hogwarts champion after all."

"You're vile, Malfoy." Hermione grumbled, slamming the book shut and leaving the room, the door slamming shut behind her. Malfoy laughed to himself and picked up the small badge again. He chuckled as he tossed it into the bin.

" _ Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, _ " he mocked. "Sure, that's exactly what we need. The Dark Lord is coming back and the ' _ brightest witch of our age _ ' is busy fussing over the damn elves." He laughed to himself, shaking his head. Draco looked back at the girl asleep on his bed. If the spell had worked, he would still have a chance. If not...

As if summoned by the thought, his father's voice rang from a small mirror across the room. Draco hurriedly went to pick it up, making sure to hide his bed from view.

"Yes Father," he answered. His father's long blond hair.

"Draco," the dry voice answered. "I have...  _ unfortunate _ news." Draco swore he could see a look of panic on his father's face.

"Oh? Mother hasn't..."

"No your mother is fine," he father snipped. "It is... well, the Coventry boy. He found our cellar."

"But Father," Draco said quietly. "Why is that 'unfortunate'?"

"I... Well, some of my  _ colleagues _ have found out about a potential... problem... within Hogwarts." Draco had never seen his Father this lost for words. "The Coventry boy has...  _ found _ .. the problem, in our cellar."

"The problem in our cellar?" Draco questioned, panic rising in his chest. "Father... is there  _ someone  _ in the cellar?"

"Doesn't matter," his father snapped. "The Coventry boy knows. He's been a dutiful follower so far, but he may try to contact his sister. You must stop her from speaking to her brother. He says he will follow the Dark Lord, but we cannot be too careful."

"I..." Draco weighed "Alright, I'll try."

"No! That is not enough. You don't understand the severity of this, Draco. If the boy contacts her, you will lose her and your fate will be sealed."

"Father, I can handle it! You don't know what I've been dealing with since–"

"Enough! Do as I say. Goodbye Draco."

All that remained in the mirror was his own reflection.

***

"Oh my god, my  _ head,"  _ Katie moaned, sitting up. A pounding headache seemed to stretch all the way from the top of her skull to her chin.

"Careful, sweetheart," Draco said, sitting down next to her on the green sheets. "Don't get up too quickly." Katie looked around. She was in Draco's bedroom. How did she get there? What time was it? Her head swirled with vague memories. A bottle of Fire Whiskey, a boy with brown hair, the smell of expensive cologne. Katie couldn't remember anything completely.

"Draco, how did I–"

"Shh, it's alright, love," he said, pulling her head into his chest and petting her hair. "You had a lot to drink last night. I brought you back here to sleep it off. You're okay." Katie nodded into his chest. She must have been really drunk, she had never blacked out like this before; she couldn't remember anything from the night before.

"Thank you," she whispered, pulling herself closer to him. There was the smell– expensive cologne. She must have been with Draco last night. Katie forced her eyes open and allowed them to adjust to the light. The normally blue light from the underwater window appeared almost green in colour.  _ The sun must be setting _ , she thought to herself,  _ I've been asleep all day.  _ As Draco petted her hair comfortingly, she felt a throb in her hips. She leaned away from Draco and pulled up both the jumper and jersey she was wearing– how the jumper got there she'll never know. A small gasp came out of her mouth. Two angry, purple bruises stood out against her pale skin, each perfect shaped into hands.

"Draco, did you..." she trailed off, unsure how to ask. "Did we have? Are these?" The words were getting jumbled in her mouth.

"Guess I got carried away." He flashed her a devilish smirk. Katie's core clenched at the sight. He must've been really rough to leave these kinds of marks on her. She wished she could remember, especially for... later use. She giggled into him and laid back down on the bed. As she stared at the green canopy, she heard the door to the room open and three voices came into the room.

Pansy Parkinson was accompanied by two Slytherin boys Katie had seen before but had never spoken to. One was tall, dark and handsome while the other... The other was the brown haired boy she remembered from the night before. Although, all she could remember was his face.

"Malfoy! Why've you been keeping this one locked up, mate! For a Hufflepuff she sure can party," the darker boy laughed, clapping Draco on the back. The brown haired boy took a seat on top of Draco's desk while Pansy came around to sit next to Katie. The Hufflepuff sat up immediately, confused as to why Pug-Face Parkinson would ever come near her.

"Katie, I wish you'd have come out sooner! You're so much fun!" she said in a way that Katie could only describe as friendly. She didn't know Pansy was capable of that.

"I- what?" Katie half stuttered. "I am?"

"'Course you are! You challenged Pansy to a drinking contest last night! Don't you remember?" the boy near Draco said, a smirk filling his face. "You won too, by the way."

"I must've because I don't remember anything," she said sheepishly. The group laughed.

"Katie," Pansy said, taking her hand. "You have to get ready for the ball with me. I'll make that short hair look just as good as mine, I think I have just enough Sleekeazy's for both of us." She giggled. Katie couldn't understand what was happening. Why were they being so nice to her? Pansy practically hated her, so why was she now being so friendly?

"I..." she stuttered. "Alright, sure." Katie forced herself to smile. With Justin hating her, Hannah and Ernie not speaking to her, and Juliette gone, Katie really had no one. If the Slytherins were going to be nice to her, who was she to say no? Beggars can't be choosers. Pansy squealed excitedly.

"You  _ need _ to show me your dress! What's Draco wearing? Do you match?" She was acting strange, different.

"I... Actually, what are you wearing Draco?" Katie asked, turning to face him. It had just occurred to her she hadn't seen his dress robes. She assumed they'd be fancy.

"Gold, I think," he said, winking at Katie. She blushed as his eyes travelled her.

"Ooooh," Pansy squealed. "You two are going to look perfect together. I'm almost jealous."

"You are jealous, Pans," the boy from the desk said with a chuckle.

"Right, I'm going to take Katie back to her common room, you lot stay out of my things, got it?" Draco said, rising from the bed and pulling Katie with him. The group said their goodbyes and Katie was pushed softly out of the dark, green bedroom.

***

"So how did we do, mate?" Blaise said as Draco returned to the room.

"She bought it. She seemed all excited and happy on the way back, I think we're in the clear," Draco said coolly, smoothing his hair. He took off the cardigan he had hastily thrown on when Katie woke up. His forearm was slightly burning, the Dark Mark darker than ever on his pale white skin. He heard Pansy gasp as she saw it and quickly avert her eyes.

"Blimey, Malfoy," Blaise said, looking both embarrassed and scared. "Do you have to show that thing off like that? It's a bit much."

"Oh, _I'm_ _sorry,_ Blaise, how about I just _wash it off_. Would that be better for you?" Draco glowered. Blaise looked at his feet, the others in the room unable to meet his eye. Draco, who had been keeping his arms covered since the mark had started getting darker, hated showing his scarred skin. The looks he got, even from his parents, made him sick. He wanted to claw the skin until only red flesh remained.

"She bought it," Theo finally said, breaking Draco from his thoughts. "That's good right?"

"Yes," Draco said thoughtfully. "For now."

"For now?" Pansy questioned.

"Yes, Pansy, for now! She's already figured it out once, she could bloody well do it again! This is why I didn't tell any of you, first time I mention it she fucking hears me! We can't be stupid about this! If I fail..." He trailed off. Thinking about failure left a cold feeling in his stomach and the vision of his parents' corpses on his mind.

"You won't fail, Draco," Pansy cooed. "Not now that you have us." Draco let out a shaky breath. Having them was the thing that worried him; it was bad enough that he was betraying  _ her _ , but if his friends knew his true feelings, he'd be betraying  _ them _ as well.


	18. Chapter Eighteen - December 10th

Katie ran through the stone halls, peering over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her. Her robes billowed behind her as she raced through crowded hall after crowded hall, a note clutched firmly in her hand.

_ 7th Floor Corridor, across from Barnabus the Barmy. _

_ D.M. _

Katie was pretty sure there was nothing across from the old Barnabus the Barmy tapestry but she had raced there as soon as Herbology had ended nonetheless. She pushed her book bag back as she ran. Passing a group of Ravenclaw girls gossiping about the ball, Katie rounded the last corner and found herself in the hallway of Barnabus the Barmy. She slowed her pace and approached the tapestry. The small wizard attempting to teach giants ballet on the fabric made her giggle. She watched the man twirling around the moving tapestry with the beasts trying to get them to do pirouettes, clearly with little success as several clubs hit him. Katie used to come up here with Jack when he was in school. He would tell her all about trolls and how, if given the chance, he would've done it much better than Barnabus.

Katie missed those times. Everything was so simple back then, back before she knew anything of her family. Before Jack had gone off on a quest to find them. Before Cedric was entered in this stupid tournament. Before she was a Seer. Before all of it. She longed for the simplicity she had before.

She felt the note brush against her leg.  _ Draco.  _ That was the one thing she had now that she didn't have then that brought her joy. Since the party in the Slytherin common room, Draco and his friends had become her only solace. While Harry, Ron and Hermione were still talking to her, it was only to try to work out her prophecy. Other than that, they ignored her like everyone else. Katie found herself staying late in the library and Great Hall, only going back to her dormitory to sleep. The other girls were still talking about her.

Katie turned from the tapestry and examined the wall. It was a regular wall. Why did Draco want to meet here? They'd taken to hooking up all over the castle; in empty classrooms, deserted hallways, even in a greenhouse once. Since the night in the Slytherin common room, Draco's sex drive had increased ten-fold. Not that she was complaining. The only place they hadn't been having sex was in Draco's room. He told her he liked the thrill of getting caught. If she was honest, she did too.

Footsteps echoed up the empty hallway. Katie turned to see Draco sauntering up the hallway, a cool smirk on his face. She let her eyes travel from his face down his body. His robes were unbuttoned, exposing his white dress shirt and dark pants. His green tie stood out starkly against the white backdrop. His long legs moved powerfully towards her.

"So, Coventry," he said when he was close enough. "Tell Sprout you're leaving after Christmas?" Malfoy came and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Yes," Katie giggled. "I still don't know how your father managed to get the train running though." The Hogwarts Express, that usually left the week before Christmas, was making a special trip on Boxing Day for any students that wished to go to the ball and return home after. They would still be expected back at the castle on January 1rst, but the small break would still be nice. As far as Katie knew, Ernie was going home after the ball. At some point, he'd managed to get a date as well, though apparently he wasn't telling anyone who it was. She was still far too mad at him and Hannah to even think of congratulating them. Or going home with him for the holidays. Instead, Draco had invited her to spend the few days at Malfoy Manor with his friends and their families. Katie couldn't think of anything better to do, so she agreed.

"Good girl," he quipped, tilting her chin up so her lips met his. As they kissed, she felt his tongue swipe against her bottom lip. She let a giggle out.

"Why'd you want to meet here?" she said, pulling away. "Do dancing trolls get you going?" She let her hand brush against the tent growing in his pants.

"Very funny," Draco said sarcastically, turning to face the wall. "No, there's a room here. You need to tell it what you want."

"Tell it what I want?" Katie scoffed. "I want to get out of this hallway." Nothing happened.

"Not like that, watch me," Draco said, closing his eyes. It was quiet for a few moments before a door materialized on what had been the empty wall. "See?" Malfoy pushed it open and walked into the room. Katie followed him from the hallway to a large room.

It appeared to be a sort of bedroom, except the bed was definitely not for sleeping. A four poster like every other bed in Hogwarts, straps extended from all four wooden posts. The whole room was flooded with red light from an unknown source. There was a trunk near the end of the bed, but Katie was sure she wouldn't find the normal clothes and school supplies in it. She walked around the room, noticing different boxes and bins littered around the floor, each filled with more things than the last. She saw ropes, potions, and something she was sure was a vibrator.

"Draco," she said, turning to face the blond boy by the door. "This is the room you needed?" A smirk filled his face. He dropped his books on a table near the door. She watched as he pulled his green robe off, leaving him in his white shirt. His muscles pulled the fabric taught.

"Clearly it is," he said, sauntering across the room. He stopped at a box on the floor, one Katie hadn't been able to check out before. He pulled something out and slipped it into his pant pocket before she could see what it was. "What? Scared?"

"Hardly," she said, turning away from him. She was quite the opposite, really. Since entering the room, her breathing had gotten much heavier. She could feel her cheeks getting redder.

"Look at me," he commanded. Katie didn't move her face from the floor, knowing her face would give her away. She heard footsteps approach her and a hand on her face turning her to meet him. His hand cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. The light grey was clouded with desire as they became hooded. She knew he could see the same look in hers. "Do as you're told, Coventry." Katie felt a tingle in her core.

"I–" she started, but she was cut off by his thumb entering her mouth.

"Shh," Draco cooed. "Use your mouth for something better." Katie sucked on the finger, earning a soft groan from the boy. He let go of her face only to wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her into him. A messy kiss found its way to their lips as they crashed together. His other hand came to her neck, squeezing roughly. Katie felt as the hand around her waist moved lower, groping her. He pulled against her, making her jump and wrap her legs around him. She felt his bulge push against her as he walked them towards the large bed. Draco laid her on her back on the bed, hovering over her. Katie broke their kiss, pulling back to watch his lithe form over her. His strong body held him up as he kissed down her neck, towards her chest. She moved up the bed, she felt the mattress dip as he came over top of her again.

Cold hands found their way to her gold tie and quickly undid it, tossing the fabric off the bed. Katie lifted up her back and pulled her robe off. Draco's long fingers undid the buttons on her blouse, before she arched her back again and let the shirt come off her. The air prickled against her exposed skin. His hands then moved to the waistband of her school skirt, inching it down until she was in her bra and panties. Draco's mouth descended on her exposed body, biting and kissing all of her skin while leaving painful marks. A gasp escaped her lips as his teeth nipped against her collarbone. She reached up to the boy's shirt and began to undo the bottom button. In an instant, she felt her hands being thrust over her head, the ropes attached to the head posts springing to life and encircling her arms. They snapped tight.

"Stay fucking still," Draco growled, his hand coming down on her throat. "Don't move unless I tell you to. Nod if you understand."

"I–" His hand tightened around her throat.

"I said  _ nod _ ." Katie nodded her head. Draco gave her a smirk before removing his hand from her throat. He moved from over top of her to her flesh. Katie tried to hold her legs together but Draco parted them with a chuckle. "Always fighting me, aren't you?" he laughed. "One more time and I'll stop." Katie froze. "Oh, that got you still, didn't it?"

The ropes at the end of the bed came to life like those binding her hands. Her feet were ensnared and spread wide as the ropes tightened. A surprised squeak came from her mouth as she was roughly moved. Draco laughed at the small noise, standing up and retrieving his wand from the table near the door. Katie saw him pick a bottle out of one of the boxes on the floor. As he approached the bed again, Katie saw a devilish look on his face. He came back over top of her, and Katie could clearly see the potion. It was shiny and pink, the same potion he had poured into her mouth back in his dorm room the first time they had gone there. Instead of fear, Katie felt excitement coursing through her veins. She was glad she was wearing black panties, otherwise she was sure a wet spot would've been forming.

"Open up, love," he said, holding the potion above her mouth. Katie hesitated. "It's the same as last time, you liked it. Don't worry." Katie still held her mouth closed. Although she was sure that even if he treated her how he did the last time she had that coursing through her veins she'd be alright with it, she still felt cautious. She didn't want to lose control again. She'd managed to fight off the overwhelming urge for numbness for so long now, she was scared of slipping back in.

"Don't worry sweetheart, you'll be okay, I'm right here," Draco cooed, kissing her lips softly. "If you want to stop, just tell me." Katie parted her lips slightly, allowing him to pour the pink liquid down her throat. Instantly she felt her skin light on fire. Everything became sensitive. She could feel every breath leave Draco and wash across her skin. It was intoxicating. Draco was clearly noticing her newfound arousal and smirked down at her.

He waved his wand across her body and she was instantly naked. Her nipples stiffened in the cold air, making her gasp in her current state. She felt as Draco's warm mouth came down on her sensitive bud, sucking and licking in a way that made her pull against the restraints. His hand slid down her body, feeling every inch of her skin, leaving goosebumps as he went. The potion coursing through her made his every touch feel a thousand times stronger.

"Fuck, Draco," she moaned. "Please." She was getting desperate, his teasing tongue and touches sending wave after wave of urgency down her body. Draco smirked at her, moving his hand from the side of her body down to her pussy. One long finger came down her slit, teasing and not going inside. It made Katie squirm and groan. The soft contact was making her drip with anticipation.

"So wet," Draco cooed, pulling his digit back. Katie looked up to see the tip slightly slick from just touching around her opening. Katie moaned incoherently. "Good girl."

He teased her again, swiping his finger up and down, before he centred on her clit. The stimulation made her quiver. He traced small circles on the bud as moan after moan tumbled out of her mouth. They were just as intoxicating as he remembered. The first time he heard them, it awakened something in him. He thought back to it, she was in a very similar position to how she was now; tied up and turned on. The only difference was her eyes had no trace of fear, everything she was doing was happening willingly. It made him laugh to himself, if only she knew the truth.

He let his finger trail down from her clit to her opening. He plunged his digit in slowly, feeling her tight walls against his finger. Her slickness covered him as he pulled out before pounding back in. He kept an excruciatingly slow pace, not enough to build her orgasm but just fast enough to make her get wetter and wetter. He curled his finger, letting the tip brush against her G-Spot.

"Oh, fuckkk," she moaned as his finger repeatedly came into contact with her spot. It was slow, so slow she thought she was going insane. The potion in her veins was making every pump of his long fingers feel excruciatingly good. It wasn't long before moan after moan was falling from her lips.

Draco added another finger, stretching her. Her walls clenched his fingers. He wondered how he ever managed to fit inside her when his fingers felt too tight. Katie winced as he added his finger, but the pain soon subsided as pleasure took over. He started to increase his pace, pushing into her and curling his fingers to hit the spot that made her whimper. Katie felt euphoric, the already pleasurable sensations being amplified. She felt him lower his head, his hot breath on her exposed pussy. His tongue came out and flicked her clit. A messy moan came from the back of her throat. Katie had never moaned this much in her life, but the intoxication from the potion was making it impossible to stay quiet. His tongue worked circles on her clit while his fingers sped up. He was bringing her closer and closer to orgasm, he could feel her tightening around him.

"Nuh uh," he tutted, pulling his fingers out. Katie groaned at the lack of stimulation, feeling her orgasm die. "No cumming without permission, you know that." A wicked smirk painted his face. He waited until her breathing steadied then inserted one finger back inside her. Instead of his tongue returning to her clit, Draco reached into his pocket and extracted the object he had slipped in earlier. Katie saw that it was a small, white object, though she couldn't tell exactly what it was.

"Know what this is?" he said, his fingers still inside her. Katie shook her head. "I saw it in Knockturn Alley with Blaise. He reckoned it would have a girl cumming in minutes. I disagreed. I think it would only take seconds." She heard as faint buzzing as the toy sprung to life. "I figured when I told the room what I wanted, I might as well test my theory." He winked and lowered the toy to her already sensitive clit. It felt like an explosion went off in her body. The vibration of the toy caused a scream-like moan to come out of her. She heard Draco chuckle at her reaction.

"Come on, baby, prove me right," he cooed, his fingers moving in and out of her with such speed that her legs were starting to shake. "Cum all over my fingers, come on." Katie felt herself tightening around his fingers. Her orgasm was getting closer and closer, threatening to spill over. Her moans came out in high pitched spurts. She was so close to the edge, her core tensing up as it built up inside her. With a final flick of his finger across her G-Spot, her release came over her and she came all over his fingers. When her body stopped shaking, he took the vibrator from her clit and pulled his slick fingers out of her. Her breathing was laboured as she came down from her high.

"Good girl," Draco praised, undoing his belt buckle. "Seems I was right, never seen you cum that fast before." Katie was still quivering as she heard his zipper come down. "Let's see if you can do it again." A pained moan came from her mouth as the vibrator came back down on her already swollen and sensitive clit. Katie pulled against her restraints, trying to get away from the stimulation. It was deliciously painful, the overstimulation and the potion working her into a frenzy. Draco freed himself from his boxers, his length springing out instantly. He stroked one hand up and down a few times, preparing himself, before positioning his top at her entrance and pushing inside her.

Katie squealed at the impact. She felt herself stretching around him, expanding to accommodate all of him. All the while, he held the vibrator tightly to her clit, making her almost convulse from the pleasure and pain. She was thrashing about wildly. Draco held himself still for a few moments, allowing her to get accustomed to his size. Katie squirmed and bucked her hips, desperate to feel some sort of friction inside her:

"Move," she moaned. "Draco,  _ move _ . Please." He bucked his hips strongly into hers, plunging himself all the way into the hilt. It was his turn to moan uncontrollably, curses coming out as her warm walls gripped him.

"Jesus, Katie," he hissed through clenched teeth. "You're so tight, god." He began thrusting in and out of her, trying to control himself. Her moans were only egging him on, urging him to pound into her until she couldn't walk. He put his hand down on her throat, using it to pull her further down his cock, thrusting even deeper into her. He could feel his own release starting to build.

Katie clenched as he thrust into her over and over, the vibration making it almost too much to bear. She wasn't going to last very much longer if he kept this up. Each thrust made him graze her swollen G-Spot, bringing her impending orgasm closer and closer. Their moans intertwined as he pulled her down the bed onto him repeatedly, the ropes holding her wrists pulled tight. She moaned and cursed, right on the edge of orgasm. Draco was close too, feeling himself clench. A few more strokes and he would spill over inside her.

"Cum for me," he commanded. " _ Now _ ." The last word came out as a growl. Katie released the muscles she had been clenching, allowing her second orgasm to flood over, this one much stronger than the last. Half screamed moans exploded from her as the orgasm rocked her body. That was all he needed, with a throaty groan he felt himself release inside of her, pulling her as deep as she would let him as he emptied himself. They stayed like that until whimpers began to pour from Katie's mouth. He hadn't taken the vibrator off and she was far too sensitive now. He pulled himself off her and took the toy away. Her body instantly collapsed, her restraints pulled tight as she went limp.

Satisfied sounds came from her lips as Draco cleaned himself up and fixed his pants. He came back to the bed and undid the restraints holding her and waved his wand so her bra and panties were back on her body. He gently moved her so he could lay next to her, pulling her head on his chest. Her eyes were closed in satisfied bliss. Draco's hand came to her hair and began to stroke it comfortingly. Katie inhaled deeply, his manly scent filling her senses. That moment felt perfect for her. Nothing could touch them. For a split second, both blondes forgot about the world outside that threatened to tear them apart. For now, they were at peace.


	19. Chapter Nineteen - December 23rd

The Yule Ball was only two days away. Everyone in the school was excitedly gossiping about tomorrow night's festivities. Katie sat at the Slytherin table, grateful she didn't have to wear her Hufflepuff uniform now that they were on break. Despite that, she was still getting strange looks from the other tables, especially the students seated at the Hufflepuff table. She could see Hannah's blonde head whipping back and forth between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables. Katie couldn't help but laugh. It was pathetic, how they couldn't stand to see her happy.

And she  _ was _ happy. Pansy had become her best friend. Crabbe and Goyle became just as much of her body guards as they were for Draco. Theo and Blaise ate breakfast with her almost everyday. And Draco... well, Draco was making her happy in  _ other _ ways. She'd finally gotten the hang of the Room of Requirement and they spent much of their free time there together. She'd been so happy she almost forgot about everything. If it hadn't been for Hermione constantly finding her, usually while she was having breakfast with Theo and Blaise, and taking her to the library to research her prophecy, she would've forgotten about it altogether.

Katie sat between Theo and Draco, eating a bowl of porridge. Across from her, Crabbe and Goyle were wolfing down plate after plate of sausages and kippers, groaning about how they were going to have to share Millicent Bullstrode at the ball, since neither of them could get anyone else to go with them. Katie giggled as Malfoy placed a bragging kiss on her cheek.

"Oi, can't you two shut up. Some of us managed to get dates months ago," Draco chuckled, his arm coming to rest around his girlfriend's shoulders. "You could've got 3rd year girls like Blaise and Theo. At least then you wouldn't have to share." The group laughed as Theo went red. Katie turned her head to the doors of the Great Hall when she heard Pansy's telltale laugh; despite them becoming friends, she still found the high-pitched squeal obnoxious. Pansy came barrelling into the Great Hall, a blonde boy being dragged along behind her. The two were giggling together as she pulled him towards the students at the Slytherin table. Katie was leaning to peer around Theo, trying to see who Pansy's new boy was, when she heard him speak.

"Pansy, please, don't make me."

She knew that voice, she'd heard it everyday since she was taken to his house as a baby. Ernie MacMillan. Katie felt her blood begin to boil beneath her skin. Ernie's face was red and filled with shame as he sat down at the table next to Pansy.

"Er, hi, Katie," he said sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ernie MacMillan, you sack of shit," Katie shouted, hitting him with the scarf she had laid on the table after coming in from a "walk" her and Draco had taken into the Forbidden Forest. "You ignore me for weeks and you say 'hi'?"

"I'm sorry, Katie, I–" Ernie started, but Pansy cut him off.

"Oh don't worry, Kates," Pansy giggled, taking Ernie's hand. "I already yelled at him for you. And I showed him how  _ fun  _ Slytherins can be." Ernie's blush deepened even further, Pansy giggling as her hand slipped below the table. Katie watched as Ernie's eyes went wide.

"PANSY! He's like my brother! Could you not do that right in front of me?" Katie said, burying her face in Draco's shoulder. Pansy laughed and Katie felt as her hand thudded down on the table.

"Fine," she whined. "By the way, you never told me how cute your dorms are. They're so bright and warm, I thought I was up in one of the towers."

"Oh? Did MacMillan bring you down there?" Theo asked, putting a spoonful of porridge in his mouth.

"Mhmm, right after he asked me to go to the ball with him," she said with a smile. "He showed me your dress too Katie, wow. I didn't know Hufflepuff's could dress so nicely, thought that was just for Slytherins." The group laughed, except for Ernie who still looked shame filled.

"You were in my room?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, Ernie let me in, you guys don't have stairs in there, it's strange. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but anyone could just walk into your dorms," Pansy said, glancing at Draco. "I heard the Gryffindork stairs turn into slides when boys try to go into the girl dorms. I wonder why it's just theirs."

"Probably because those Gryffindor boys think everything belongs to them, they'd probably end up in there every night of the week," Crabbe said through mouthfuls of food.

"Katie," Ernie whispered to her while the rest of the group laughed about Potter sneaking into Granger's dorm. "I really am sorry for what I said. You're right, I should've been happy for you."

"It's fine," she snapped. "But don't think I've forgotten how easily you and Hannah turned on me. We're family, Ern."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to come talk to you earlier but,  _ he's  _ always around you," he said, flicking his eyes towards Draco.

"'He' is my boyfriend. You're just going to have to accept it."

"You're like my little sister,  _ Kaitlyn _ ." She flinched at her full name. No one even really knew her full name. Only Mrs. MacMillan called her that when she was mad at her, like when she accidentally broke Mr, MacMillan's wand. "I don't like the idea of him putting his hands on you.

"Then act like it  _ Ernest _ . If I'm like your sister, fucking act like it. Don't cut me off for being happy." Ernie was quiet for a while.

"I'm sorry, Katie," he finally said.

"It's alright, let's just forget it, okay?" Ernie nodded and smiled. Katie returned to the conversation at the table just as Goyle choked on a sausage midway through telling a story about he saved a Cruppy from the black lake, making everyone laugh.

"Your mother wasn't joking about that lying hex, was she?" Theo chuckled. "Bad luck every time a lie passes your lips? Christ, I should use that on my little sister, that brat is always blaming me for stuff." The group started laughing again.

***

"What were you thinking, Parkinson," Draco barked. Pansy, Theo and Blaise stood sheepishly by the door of Draco's bedroom. "If she gets back with her friends, we might lose her again!"

"Don't worry, Draco," she cooed. "I have a plan."

"And what in Merlin's name is that?" Draco shouted, his frustration rising. He should have never brought them into this, it was only putting everything at risk.

"I got into her room, remember?"

"I could've done that, she'd have let me in, I don't see the point, Pansy," Draco growled.

"I 'saw' her dress." A wicked look passed across Pansy's face. "Let's just say, her dress  _ was  _ beautiful." A dry chuckle filled the room.

"Pansy, what did you do?"

"That Abbott girl should really stop leaving her wand laying around on her bed when she's not there. It would just be _so_ easy for someone to take it and use it to, say, cast Incendio on a dress hanging nearby."

"Pansy! You're a fucking genius," Blaise laughed. "Mate, when she finds the dress, all you have to do is convince her to cast Prior Incantato on Abbott's wand and she'll never trust those Hufflefluff's again!" Draco let himself smile. He had to stop doubting everything so much. He'd done everything right, he was even able to get his feelings under control. Since bringing his friends in on it, all the regret and romance he felt towards the small Hufflepuff girl disappeared. This was his  _ duty.  _ If he didn't convince her to take his place, he was as good as dead. He had to do this.

"Right, I should be there when she finds it," Draco said going to the door. "Good job, Pansy." He saw her face brighten at the compliment.

***

Katie and Hermione sat by the roaring fire in the Hufflepuff common room. The Library was closed for the holidays and Hermione being the witch she was, couldn't stand wasting a day not looking into the prophecy.

"What about this? In 1865, three wizards duelled on the 'third night' of a Quidditch match, they all ended up in St. Mungo's for psychological ailments. Maybe that's the third night?" Katie said, pointing at the words in front of her. "Maybe it's bad luck if a Quidditch match lasts for three days."

"Could be," Hermione said thoughtfully. "But there's no Quidditch this year. I still think it has something to do with the third task."

"But Ron's right, if it's happening during the day, how could something happen under the third night?"

"Well, suppose it's like Quidditch. What if it doesn't end until something happens, like catching the snitch? It could end up taking three days."

"I don't know, 'Mione."

"Are you sure you don't remember what you saw?" Katie thought back. Though she'd remembered more about her dream, she still couldn't place all of it.

"I remember You-Know-Who, he had his hand out, and my mother was there," she said. "And Malfoy. But I don't think that has anything to do with it." Hermione was one of the few people who hadn't said anything about her and Draco. In fact, she seemed like the only one who trusted him.

"And you're sure he has no scars," she said. Katie shook her head. Since she'd mentioned to Hermione that Draco was in the dream, Hermione was convinced he was the second "marked at birth".

"No, I would've seen it," Kayie hesitated. "Mind you he doesn't take off his shirt when we have–"

"Gross!" Hermione interrupted with a giggle. "Malfoy  _ doing it _ . That's revolting." But her face betrayed her; she had a curious blush creeping onto her cheeks. The two girls giggled.

"I'd better go," Katie finally said, closing her book and rising from the table. "Draco wanted to see my dress before the Ball. Apparently he learned how to transfigure his tie to match." Hermione gave her a small goodbye and Katie left the library. All the way to her common room, Katie encountered no one. The halls were virtually empty, it was strange. Getting ready for the ball, she thought. When she reached the barrel door to the common room, she felt two strong arms creep around her waist.

"Hello, beautiful," Draco purred in her ear, moving her hair to lay kisses on her exposed neck. She'd finally mastered the bruise removal charm, meaning she wouldn't have to wear a scarf all the time. She leaned into the contact.

"Draco," she whispered, the feeling starting to send tingles down her spine. "Come on, come to my room."

"Your room isn't private, dear."

"I thought you liked the risk," she teased. Draco let her go to tap the bottom barrel, opening the door to the common room. The two ducked into the small circular doorway and emerged into the warm, homey, stone walled common room. Draco had never been in the Hufflepuff common room, but it was exactly how he expected it; warm, soft, and smelling faintly of pastries. The whole place reeked of comfort. It was nothing like the dark, luxurious common room he called home.

"Come, it's through here," Katie said, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards another circular doorway on the left side of the room. She pushed the door open and they stood in a small hallway with about 15 more circular, wooden doors. There were far fewer dormitories here than in Slytherin. Probably because Slytherins have one dormmate at most, Draco thought with a laugh. How pathetic these Hufflepuffs were.

Katie brought him through the third door on her right, into yet another circular room, this one with five beds centred around a tree growing in the centre. The green leaves, yellow wallpaper and warm stone walls contrasted the dark wooden beds, each outfitted with yellow quilts and curtains. The whole room reminded him of the greenhouses, despite the only windows being small half moons near the ceiling; the room seemed to brighten itself. Luckily for them, the bright room was empty

Katie turned around and met Draco with a kiss. She pulled him backwards towards one of the beds, falling down on top of it. Their kiss deepened as she adjusted his weight on top of her, letting his legs fall between hers and push them open. A soft whimper came from the blonde girl's lips. He brought his hand up to her hair and pulled gently, causing her head to lean back. The boy seized the moment to lay kisses and bite marks on her exposed neck. Katie's hands wandered down his body, stopping at his belt. She riddled with the buckle until it finally came undone.

"Careful, love, someone could come in," Draco teased, leaning up to take off the belt. She watched as his long fingers undid the button to his trousers, rings glinting in the light. She heard his zipper come down as he reached in his boxers to free his member. She watched as it bounced free from the top of his boxers. She wrapped her fingers around his length, feeling his hardness beneath the skin. She began to move her hand slowly, stroking up and down his long shaft and earning a low groan from the boy. Katie rose off her back and flipped them so she was on top, straddling his legs just below his aching cock.

She leaned down and parted her lips slightly, placing the softest kiss she could directly on the head. She felt her boyfriend shiver beneath her. His head was thrown back in frustration. Katie giggled. She liked seeing him desperate like this.

Katie brought her tongue down to the base of his shaft, licking a trail all the way to the head before plunging down, bringing him all the way into her throat. She heard a guttural moan come from Draco's lips, urging her on. She came back to the top, swirling her tongue around his sensitive head, before diving down again. She continued doing this over and over, eventually increasing her pace. Moans and curses tumbled out of Draco's mouth as she brought him closer and closer to the edge.

"Fuck... Katie... you're so good at that... fuck you're such a good girl... that's right, make me cum," he moaned, watching as her head bobbed up and down on his long cock. Katie forced her head as far as it would go, gagging slightly as he slipped down her throat. She worked him up and down until she could feel him tightening beneath her lips.

"God, I'm so close," he moaned, his hand grabbing a fist full of her hair. "Look at me," he commanded. "Look at me while I cum down your pretty little throat." Katie's eyes met his, dark and hooded with lust. She maintained eye contact as she moved her head up and down on him. His head began to tilt back as he got closer and closer. Katie felt him start to cum in her mouth and quickly forced her head back down to the hilt, keeping her eyes open as he shot squirt after squirt down her throat.

"Wow," she said, standing up and wiping her mouth. Draco lay back on his arms, his head dropped back in exhaustion and pleasure. "Someone was excited." She giggled before sitting down on the bed next to him. It took him a few minutes to recover. By the time he could think straight, Katie was already up and walking over to her trunk.

"What are you up to over there?" he teased, propping himself into a sitting position.

"I thought you wanted to see my dress," she said, kneeling in front of the trunk. "Was that a trick to get me down here?" She laughed as she undid the clasp and pushed the lid of the trunk up. Draco didn't even have time to process before a cry came from her mouth.

Tears welled at Katie's eyes. On top of her clothes, where she had left her dress nicely folded, was a scorched heap of sooty fabric. What was once white and gold was now a sickly black colour. The fabric that had looked like liquid gold now reeked of fire and smoke. Katie's heart dropped into her stomach. She clasped the remains of the dress in her hands, unable to believe what happened. What was she going to do now? The Yule Ball was barely 24 hours away and she had nothing to wear. Sure she had a sundress that she packed for the Hogsmeade visits during June, but that was hardly formal enough for this. A choked sound came out of her.

She felt Draco's hands take the charred dress from her hands. He looked at it, turning it over in his hands, before setting down the dress and kneeling down beside the girl. Tears were flowing freely now.

"Katie, I'm so sorry," he said, rubbing his hand comfortingly on her back. "Who would do this?"

"I don't know," she whimpered. "I don't know. My friends are mad at me sure, but none of them would.... would they?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," he said, looking around. "But you know, we could always find out." Draco stood and walked to the bed nearest Katie's on the right. A wand sat carefully on the end. Hannah was always leaving her wand behind when she went to the library. Katie got up and sat back down on her bed, the dress still clutched in her hands. Draco came back to the bed and sat down next to her, pulling his own wand from his pocket.

"Draco, Hannah wouldn't."

"Don't you want to know for sure?" he urged. He handed Katie Hannah's wand before placing his over it. He waited for permission. Katie finally caved, nodding. " _ Prior Incantato." _ A burst of ghostly flames sparked from the top of Hannah's wand. Katie choked out another sob. Draco took the wand back and placed it in the same place it was on the adjacent bed. He then pulled Katie into his chest as she began to sob uncontrollably.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," he cooed. "We'll get you a new one."

"There's no time, Draco," she whispered. "It took Madame Malkin weeks to make my dress. I'll never get one in time. And I'm sure Mrs. MacMillan doesn't have enough for  _ another  _ dress, the first was expensive enough."

"Katie, you're dating a Malfoy now," he said. "There are certain  _ privileges  _ that come with that." She could feel his lazy smile. "Leave it with me. You'll make Abbott curse the day she did this."


	20. Chapter Twenty - December 25th

Katie was crushed. Despite Draco's assurance, there was no dress to be found that morning with the Owl Post. She'd received Christmas presents from the MacMillans, who'd given her a new jumper, an old divination book about Seers from Cedric and a letter saying "speak soon" from Jack. She hadn't even seen Draco that day. While everyone else was doing their hair and makeup to get ready for the Ball, Katie was sitting on one of the one of the jut outs of the stone walls in the Entrance Hall. Around her, professors were transfiguring the Great Hall and Entrance Hall into a winter wonderland. It was horribly depressing.

Katie put her head back against the cold wall. She felt empty. For one of the few times that year, she had felt hopeful. She felt normal. Now, because someone she had considered her friend got jealous, she was going to spend the night in her dorm room, crying into her pillow while the rest of the castle danced the night away. It was horribly infuriating.

And where was Draco? She hadn't seen him since he'd left the Great Hall after dinner the night before. He said he was off to send an owl to his mother who would order the dress for her. He had mentioned before that his mother was kind and very excited to meet her over the holidays. Katie felt awkward at the premise of accepting a gift from her before even meeting her, but Draco assured her that it was nothing. A dress was going to cost at least 100 Galleons; Draco said they paid more than that on Draco's school robes alone, it was nothing to their family. Katie scoffed at that.

"Katie!" a voice called from somewhere to the side of Katie. She opened her eyes and peered around. Cedric was bounding towards her. Instead of wearing the stylish dress robes he had shown her a few days earlier, he was dressed in a Wimbourne Wasps sweater and jeans.

"Ced!" she said standing up. "Shouldn't you be getting dressed? You and Cho are opening the dance are you not?  _ And _ you have to sit at the head table. Come on, I'll do your hair and–"

"Shh," Cedric said, putting his finger on her lips to stop her from rambling. "Katie, I'm a guy. It'll take me 10 minutes tops. You on the other hand... It'll take an hour alone to tame that hair of yours."

"Ha ha," she mocked. "My hair is fine." She tucked a stray strand behind her ear. Her hair was wavy, sure, but it wasn't unruly. She hadn't even considered straightening it for the Ball until Pansy suggested it. "It's my dress that's the problem."

"Your dress? I saw it Katie, it's pretty. I wouldn't wear it but, you know."

"It's gone. Hannah cast Incendio on it. It's a pile of rubbish now."

"What? Are you serious? Hannah would never do that."

"I cast Prior Incantato on her wand. It was her." Katie couldn't meet his eye. Cedric was a Prefect, she shouldn't have even told him. She didn't want Hannah in trouble. "It's fine. I'm just not going anymore." Cedric placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Oi, Diggory," a cold voice shouted from the other side of the Entrance Hall. Draco strode across the room and up to the two Hufflepuffs, a box clutched under one of his arms. "Hands off." Draco wrapped one of his arms around Katie's shoulders, pushing Cedric off.

"Listen, Malfoy," Cedric said, a vein pulsing in his neck. Katie could see him gritting his teeth. "I don't know who you think you're talking to, but I'm not one of your Slytherin buddies. I know I said your badges were cool, but if you lay even a  _ finger _ on Katie that she doesn't want there, I swear to god you'll be in detention for so long you'll be begging Filch to start torturing students again. Understand?"

"Calm down, half-blood," Malfoy sneered. "Katie here is perfectly happy. In fact," he turned to her. "Your dress arrived, sweetheart. Told you not to worry." Katie's heart began to thunder. As much as she pretended that she didn't care about the Ball, the prospect of being able to attend gave her hesitant optimism.

"Can I see it?" she asked, poking the box under his arm.

"It's a surprise, love," he chuckled. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Cedric giving her a confused look. He'd never seen Draco act like this before. "I showed Pansy, she's going to do your hair and makeup. I want you to see it all put together." He pecked her on the cheek. "Come, you have to go get ready."

"Er, I'll see you later, Ced?" Katie said, trying to lessen the awkwardness of the situation.

"Alright, are you sure you're–"

"My god, Diggory," Draco said exasperatedly. "She's  _ fine,  _ clearly she's fine. Don't you have a dance to learn or a riddle to figure out? Don't think I didn't notice you're helping Potter in the Tournament." Cedric went to say something but Draco was already pushing Katie towards the stairs to the Slytherin and Hufflepuff common rooms. Katie mouthed an apology to Cedric who gave her a half-hearted smile. She could tell he was worried for her, as most people were when they saw her and Draco together. She didn't understand it, he made her happy, he was kind to her, why couldn't everyone just accept that?

"Can't you just show me a peek?" she whined as Draco whisked her past the Hufflepuff common room and down towards the Slytherin dungeons.

"Where's the fun in that, darling?" he chuckled as they reached the door. Before they could even step past the door frame, Pansy was bounding up to them, bottles of Sleakeazy's and perfume in her arms.

"Katie! Finally! Come on, I still have to do your hair before I can get dressed! There is  _ no  _ way i'm getting any of the Sleakeasy's on my dress!" she giggled, grabbing Katie's arm and pulling her away from Draco.

"Pansy! You've gotta tell me what my dress looks like," Katie pleaded as the two girls ran up the dormitory stairs. "Draco won't let me see it."

"He only showed me the colour," Pansy shrugged. They turned the opposite way at the top of the stairs, away from the boys' dormitories and towards the girls'. The rooms were very similar to Draco's, except there were two beds. She couldn't help but feel she'd be in this room before, or at least one similar. She'd definitely seen a dark room with two beds and green furnishings, but she couldn't place it. It was like it was someone else's memory. She couldn't understand it.

"But how am I to get ready if I don't know what it looks like!" Katie whined.

"Shush! Just sit down, close your eyes, and I'll do it!" Pansy sighed, pushing her down onto her bed. Katie huffed but ultimately closed her eyes. She could feel Pansy magically applying makeup to her and spraying things on her hair. It felt like hours that she sat there. She smelled a sickly sweet strawberry scent settle in her hair before she felt a cool mist on her chest. The strawberry smell was quickly replaced with the smell of Draco's expensive cologne.

"Ugh! Pansy!" she coughed, opening her eyes. "Sprayed enough of that stuff? God! Don't you have girl's perfume?"

"Shut up, Katie," Pansy laughed. "What do you smell?"

"You know damn well what I smell," she laughed. "You sprayed at least an ounce of Draco's cologne on me." Pansy started laughing even harder.

"Really? Cause I smell old books, perfume, and cranberries." Katie inhaled again. She was still definitely smelling Draco's cologne, but now she could detect hints of mint and apple.

"You're mad," Katie giggled. "That cologne covered everything." Pansy grabbed a bottle from the desk behind her.

"This perfume is mixed with Founder's Flowers," she said smugly. "Nicked 'em from Snape store room. Makes you smell like Amortentia." The two girls giggled as they inhaled the perfume. It was making them slightly giddy.

"Wait," Katie said eventually, a giggle still coming out of her mouth. "Ernie definitely doesn't smell like cranberries. Or perfume. I've lived with him my whole life, that man smells more like a Puffskein cage than cranberries." Pansy just kept giggling.

"What can I say, MacMillan's not really my type," she chuckled, getting up to put the bottle back down. "No offence to the guy, really. I just prefer... something  _ softer." _

"Trust me, Pans, Ernie is the softest guy I know. I once found him crying when the Harpies lost–"

"Not that kind of soft, Coventry," Pansy giggled. Katie went to ask her another question when the door to the room opened. Draco and Blaise sauntered in, both wearing their dress robes. Draco's robes were very handsome. Black with a white dress shirt, they seemed to be perfectly tailored to him. He was still carrying the box containing her dress under one arm as he confidently strode up to his girlfriend.

"Draco, settle this for us," she said, standing up to meet him. "What do I smell like?"

"You smell like you always do, I don't understand," he said, bringing his head to her neck to inhale. He kissed the soft skin gently before pulling again.

"Told you," Pansy laughed, picking up her dress from her trunk. It was black, floor length and very low cut. She held it out for Katie to see before dropping it on the bed. Her hands went to the hem of her shit, pulling it up over her head and exposing an emerald lace bra. Blaise whistled as she shrugged off her jeans, showing the same coloured panties.

"Jesus, Pansy!" Katie shouted, her hand going to Draco's eyes. Draco chuckled and turned away from Pansy.

"What?" Pansy smirked. "Nothing they haven't seen before." Katie knew that Draco had been with Pansy, he'd even said as much before potions class that one day. Still, she didn't know how much she liked other girls stripping in front of her boyfriend. Once Pansy's dress was successfully on, Draco turned back around and handed her the box.

"I'm taking Blaise out of here, don't want Katie giving him the same show you did," he chuckled. Pansy rolled her eyes and shooed the boys from her room, not before Draco blew Katie a kiss. Katie giggled to herself. She liked it when Draco was affectionate to her around others.

Katie came over to Pansy, snatching the box out of her arms. She had to get a look at the dress. She walked back to the bed and set the box down. Lifting the lid, she saw a note card on top and small writing.

_ Merry Christmas, Dear _

_ Welcome to the Family _

_ Mrs. Malfoy _

Katie's heart swelled. Despite everything she'd heard about the Malfoy family, they seemed perfectly nice. Maybe they hadn't been lying about being Imperiused for You-Know-Who. Either way, Katie was getting more and more excited for her trip to Malfoy Manor. She picked up the notecard and put it in her jeans pocket. Pansy came up next to her, even she was excited to see what the Malfoys sent. Katie took a deep breath and peeled back the tissue.

"Oh my god," Pansy sputtered, her hands instinctively going down to cover her own dress. The dress in the box made her luxurious gown look like it belonged to a Weasley.

It was the exact opposite of her other dress. She pulled it out of the box. Black, floor length fabric trailed down, emerald sparkles fluttering from the skirt. The top looked form fitting with a low neckline, the sleeves made from a soft lacy material and swooped off the shoulder. The skirt puffed out gently from the hips, giving the dress a full figure. It was beautiful.

"Here, Malfoy taught me his Disrobing Charm," Pansy said, holding up her wand.

"What do you mean  _ his  _ Disrobing Charm?" Katie questioned.

"I mean  _ HIS  _ Disrobing Charm," Pansy laughed. "He made it himself. As much as he acts like Flitwick is an old tool, Malfoy has a knack for making his own spells. Can't do the ones he's taught, though." Pansy was still laughing as Katie processed it. Malfoy could make his own spells? They were only fourth years, and yet she'd not only learned that he made his own magic, but she'd seen him do non-verbal magic.

"How? He must be one of the best Wizards at Hogwarts if he can do that–" Pansy chortled.

"Hardly! His father just hires tutors for him over the summer holidays, teaches him curses and hexes from the First War. His dad's obsessed with him beating Granger for top of the class." Katie was hardly shocked now. She knew how the Malfoy's felt about Muggle-Borns, so it would only make sense that Mr. Malfoy would want Draco to be ahead of Hermione. "Selfish prat can't even be bothered to try though. Except Potions, but then again Snape does play favourites though." She wasn't wrong there, Malfoy didn't try in class. In fact, she'd only seen him try in class twice; once when he'd scarred her hand, the other when he made her cum.

Katie turned her attention back to the dress as Pansy cast the Disrobing Charm. Instantly, her old jumper and jeans were replaced with the expensive dress. The fabric was incredibly soft. It felt like a perfect fit against her.

"Katie, come look!" Pansy giggled, pulling her to the mirror. The girl she saw looked nothing like her. Pansy had done her makeup dark yet natural. Her lips were a taupe colour while her eyes were framed by large, black, lashes. Her hair was tied up at the back of her head in a pretty bun, with two curled strands down to frame her face. As she let her eyes trail down to the dress, she felt her heart jumping. She looked stunning.

"You look amazing," Pansy said, throwing her arms around Katie's bare shoulders. "You look like a proper Slytherin queen." Katie laughed.

"I'm still in Hufflepuff, you know," she giggled.

"Only on paper." Pansy gave her a wink. "You're basically in Slytherin now. You're one of us." The two girls laughed. Katie leaned down and slid on the pair of black high heels she was boring from Pansy. Suddenly the door burst open again. Theo was standing in the door frame, staring at the two girls.

"Wow, Coventry," he said, his eyes roaming up and down her. "Are you sure you want to go with Malfoy? You'd look much better on my arm all night." The girls laughed.

"Piss off, Nott," Pansy said, grabbing hers and Katie's cloaks. She tossed Katie hers and sauntered over to the door. "Coming to escort us down, Theo? Where's your date?"

"She's already in the Great Hall," Theo said, closing the door behind the two girls once they were out in the hallway. "Your dates are outside. Yours couldn't get in, Pans. Malfoy's waiting with him." The three students walked down the dormitory stairs and out to the common room door. Outside, Ernie and Draco were standing together on the other side of the hall, talking quietly. Ernie's dress robes looked cheap compared to Malfoy's, even though Katie knew Mrs. MacMillan spent at least a hundred galleons on them. She watched as they noticed the two girls waiting for them.

Draco's jaw dropped at the sight of her. Katie could see his eyes travelling all over her, hesitating in all the right places. A warmth spread to her cheeks as she met his eyes. They looked territorial. The girls headed over to their dates.

"You look..." Draco started, but Katie leaned up and cut him off with a kiss.

"Thank you," she said as she pulled away. "Thank you so much. This dress is beautiful."

"Only the best," Draco said, coolly. "Couldn't have you looking like everyone else, not when you're dating Slytherin Royalty. Here, I have something else for you. Turn around." His hand dipped into his pocket. "It was my mother's." Draco's hands came up around her neck. She felt a cold pendant settle against her bare skin. Katie looked down to see a raven and serpent intertwined with ivy on a silver chain.

"What's–"

"It's my mother's family animal, the raven, and my father's, the serpent," he explained. "My father made it for my mother when they were in school." Katie smiled and touched the cold metal.

The five students walked through the halls. As they approached the Entrance Hall, they saw the magical snowflakes falling inside. Despite having attended a wizard school for years, this was still breathtaking for Katie. There were ice sculptures and evergreen trees; the whole place looked like an enchanted winter forest. As they entered the Great Hall, the magical aura only intensified. There were several small circular tables around the room instead of the four long ones. The head table was still in place but the circular tables fanned around the outside of the room.

As Katie walked through the Great Hall, she saw eyes all fall on her. Hannah spat out her water as she walked in, her arm wrapped in Draco's as he escorted her to their table. She saw Ron make an irritated face at her as she walked past him. He seemed unusually angry today. The five students sat down at a table with Millicent Bulstrode, Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise and two third year girls who appeared to be Theo and Blaise's dates.

"Took you lot long enough," Blaise chuckled.

"Not all of us are okay with looking like slobs all the time, Zabini," Pansy sneered. Blaise shot her a dirty look but was interrupted before they could argue more. The champions, their dates and the professors were walking into the Hall. The music swelled as Viktor and Hermione, Cedric and Cho, Fleur and Roger Davies, and Harry and Parvati were paraded up the centre of the Hall to sit at the head table. Katie could see Pansy go red as Hermione walked in the room.  _ Strange _ , she thought. Cedric caught Katie's eye from his seat. She could tell he was impressed with her dress. She made a mental note to apologize to him for Draco later.

The dinner was good. Pansy and her tried to talk to the third year girls, who admittedly looked uncomfortable, but they stayed rather quiet. Still, it was fun. Katie couldn't help but feel that the night might've been less fun if she had spent it with her House. The Slytherins were much more lively than the Hufflepuffs, and they definitely had better conversations.

"I'm just saying," Blaise continued. "I'd rather shag a Veela that's gone full Harpy than a Mermaid." Pansy laughed.

"Are you kidding? Harpy venom is a way worse trip than Muggle Mushrooms and you puked all over my floor when we tried those, remember?" Blaise grumbled a quiet protest as the rest of the table laughed.

"Pansy would fuck a harpy," Theo chuckled. "Wouldn't you?" Pansy's face went red again.

"Well... I–er– I wouldn't–" Thankfully, Pansy was cut off by the Champions rising to the centre of the dance floor for the opening dance. Everyone watched as the four champions and their dates whirled around the Hall. Katie was staring at Cedric, who she had taught the dance to only a few days earlier. It was dreadful, really. Now, however, he looked perfectly graceful as he twirled and lifted Cho. Harry, on the other hand, looked like he might lose his dinner any second.

"Look at Granger," Pansy sighed. Katie followed her gaze to Hermione and Viktor Krum, who were talking softly as they danced. They looked truly happy. Katie was glad to see it; if anyone deserved a night of blissful happiness, it was Hermione. Pansy on the other hand, looked wistfully jealous. Then again, how could you blame her– dancing with Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum was probably on every girl's mind. The music finally softened as the Great Hall applauded for the champions. Then, one by one, all the couples got up as another soft, violin ballad began to play. Most of the champions stayed for another dance, but Harry was out of sight the minute the music ceased for a second.

"Can I have this dance?" Malfoy asked, standing beside her and offering his hand. Katie blushed, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor. He placed a cold hand on her waist as she laid hers on his shoulder. Then, with the confidence of Hagrid in the face of a dragon, he began twirling her around the dance floor. Katie was an alright dancer. Mrs. MacMillan had taught her one summer for fun. But she was nowhere near as good as Draco. He moved so elegantly, with such poise and strength. She felt him pull her against his frame tightly as he lifted her with a twirl. She felt like she was flying. Everything was so perfect. It was as if, for a moment, the world was frozen and the two of them were the only people that mattered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hannah and Susan giving her dirty looks, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered in that moment except her and Draco.


	21. Chapter Twenty-One - December 25th

"Come on, Draco," Katie giggled, pulling the taller blonde by his arm out of the castle. The grounds had been coated in a thick blanket of snow, benches and hedges had been placed around. It was beautiful.

"What's gotten into you, Coventry," Draco laughed as they ducked behind a hedge. Katie pushed herself against him and placed a sloppy kiss on his lips, forcing Draco back against the hedge. She reached up and pulled his jacket off, letting it fall to the snow.

Draco's hands came to her shoulders and pushed her dress down. His hand cupped her breast as his mouth moved from her lips to her neck. She was so wrapped up in the feelings that she almost didn't hear the soft footsteps approaching them. As her hands came to the waistband of his trousers, she heard a voice.

"Katie! Finally, I–" Cedric stopped, noticing her state of undress. His eyes went to the ground as his cheeks turned crimson. "Right, put your clothes on."

"Ced," Katie half laughed. "Can't this wait?"

"No," he said sternly. "You need to come with me right now, I, er... just come on." Katie shrugged her dress back up while Draco pulled his jacket back on. He went to follow Katie towards Cedric when a hand came hard against Malfoy's chest.

"Just Katie," Cedric said, sharply.

"Fuck off, Diggory," Malfoy sneered. The two boys stepped closer together, each challenging the other.

"It's okay, Draco," Katie said, trying to get in between the two hotheads. "I'll be back in a minute, it'll be alright." Neither man stepped down. Katie looked between the two eyes; one honey gold and the other icy grey, both clouded with testosterone and anger. "Draco, please." She wedged herself in the middle of them, finally making them break eye contact.

"Just keep your dirty half-blood hands off her, Diggory," Draco growled. He gave Katie a protective look.

"Draco, I'll be fine," Katie tried to reassure him. "I'll be right back." Draco continued glaring at Cedric until he and Katie rounded a hedge. "Alright, spill it. What's wrong, Ced?"

"No, I can't say, you just need to come with me," Cedric said. He sounded almost frantic. It struck Katie as odd; Cedric was always level headed, why was he being so irrational?

"Cedric!" Katie shouted, trying to plant her feet but Cedric grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. They were nearing the Entrance Gates. "Cedric Diggory! You stop right now! What is going on!" Cedric finally stopped.

"Can't you just trust me? I wouldn't be doing this unless it was important. We don't have much time!" She saw a terrified look cross his face. Katie fell silent and followed. When they reached and crossed the gates– Cedric managed to charm them open– the entire atmosphere changed. Inside the grounds, the snow had felt like a blanket and though the air was chilly, it felt warm. Here, the wind whipped and blew icy snow around. Katie was suddenly aware of how little she was wearing. She shivered in the darkness.

"Cedric," she whispered. It was deathly silent here. "What's going on?" Cedric gave her an apologetic look and draped his cloak over Katie's bare shoulders.

"Not much longer now, I don't think," he whispered, peering out into the darkness. "Come on, Jack, where are you?"  _ Jack. _ Where was Jack? Katie's head swirled. She tried every day to not think of Jack, where he was, what he was doing. Had he reached their parents? Had they reached him? Was something wrong?

Suddenly, Jack apparated, clutching his wand. He was dressed strangely, in an expensive looking black suit. His usually wavy hair was coiffed back. He didn't look like Jack, but rather some strange rich version of her brother.

"Jack!" Katie cried, running forward and throwing her arms around him. She felt his wrap around her. She almost didn't believe it. As much as she tried to talk herself out of it, she hadn't fully believed him to still be alive until he had appeared before her. They pulled apart as Jack and Cedric hugged each other.

"Good to see you, mate," Cedric said as they pulled apart. "Your owl sounded... worried. What's wrong?"

"It's a long story, Ced," Jack said, pacing. "Forgive me for all of this, okay?" Cedric nodded and Jack began to unravel all he explained to Katie on the Astronomy Tower at Halloween. Cedric kept a straight face as Jack told him about Romania, their parents, and all he'd learned. When he'd finished, Cedric had gone pale.

"Right," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I was going to tell you about becoming a Triwizard Champion. Guess my news isn't as big now." He laughed sheepishly.

"Right, congratulations on that, mate," Jack said, clapping his hand on Cedric's back. "Katie, I need to tell you something." But it was Katie's turn to launch into a tangled tale about her prophecy and her dream. She, once again, failed to mention Draco. Even though all of the school knew that they were together, she wasn't sure if she was ready for Jack to know that yet.

"Jack, I don't know what to say," Katie said. "Dumbledore said our mum could've had the Sight, and our great grandmother was a Seer. How did we not know this? Did the MacMillans not know?"

"I knew," Jack said quietly. "I knew about our great grandmother. I don't know how to say this." He hesitated. "Mother told me." Katie's blood ran cold.

" _ What? _ " she coughed. "You've seen her? You spoke to her? Jack what the  _ hell  _ is going on?"

"Let him speak, Katie," Cedric said softly.

"I'm staying with a family. Someone close to them. Mum recognized me immediately, she's staying there too. Whole whack of Death Eaters are," he started. "I've had to do, well, I don't want to talk about it. But you're right, Katie. He's coming back. Voldemort is coming back."

"Don't say that name!" Cedric hissed.

"Why not?" Jack glared back. "It's just a name, Ced. It's time to grow up. Everything is changing and it's changing fast, but Katie, you're in danger."

"What?" Katie almost laughed. "I'm in danger? Jack, I'm at Hogwarts, safest place in the world."

"The threat is inside the walls, Katie," Jack said hurriedly. "Look, I don't have much time left, they'll start to wonder where I am." He was looking over his shoulder, frightened.

"Jack," Katie said, shaking her head. "Jack, I'll be alright. I have something to tell you. I–er – have a boyfriend now. He won't let anything happen to me."

"I know about Draco, Katie," Jack said sternly. "I need you to listen to me, right now. Get away from him. Don't explain, just stop speaking to him." Katie felt anger rise in her. How could Jack not understand? Why did no one want her to be happy?

"No!" she shouted. "No! Jack, you're wrong about him!"

"Katie, the family I'm staying with," he started. "It's the Malfoys. I've heard things, Katie, things about you and Draco and Voldemort. Come on, don't be daft. I only want to protect you!"

"I can  _ protect _ myself, Jack!"

"Just like Juliette could?" Katie froze.

"Juliette's Aunt pulled her out of school after my prophecy," Katie said slowly.

"Yes, the aunt that's supposedly a Seer? Despite her being a Muggle-Born witch?"

"She... well, maybe her parents were muggles? One a squibb?"

"That wouldn't make her Muggle-Born, Katie, think! Something isn't adding up!"

"I... No! You're wrong! Draco and Juliette aren't out to get me! Jack–"

"Katie! Just listen to him!" Cedric shouted. Katie quieted.

"No," Jack said suddenly, looking around. "I have to go, I've been gone too long. Katie, check Malfoy's arm. There's a Dark Mark there, looks like this." Jack pulled up his own sleeve. A dark serpent and skull tarnished his pale skin. Both Katie and Cedric gasped. "If you can't believe me, you'll have to believe that."

"Jack!" Cedric choked out. "You're not?"

"No," he said, pulling his sleeve back down. "It's the only way they'd trust me. I'll be fine now that I have this. Katie, just... trust me. Look at his arm." And then, with a popping sound, Jack was gone.

***

"Katie, you have to believe him!" Cedric shouted at her. They had argued all the way back to the castle. "He risked his life to come tell you that! There's no way he would do that unless he really thought you were in danger! You're all he has!"

"Draco isn't trying to hurt me, Cedric!" Katie yelled back. "He's the  _ only _ one who's been nice to me! All of you lot dropped me like I was poison or something!"

"Don't you think there's a reason no one else can stomach that slimy git?" Before she realized what she was doing, Katie's hand came up and slapped Cedric across the face. The look of alarm on Cedric's face struck Katie's heart. She regretted it the instant she had done it. Cedric reached his hand out to catch hers so she couldn't strike him again. Before she could apologize, a large figure stormed out of the castle and picked Cedric up by the collar of his dress robes.

"What did I fucking say, Diggory," Draco growled. "Keep your hands off." He dropped Cedric only to send a blow right into his chin. His punch made Cedric double back. But Malfoy didn't stop. He took another step towards the Hufflepuff boy and struck him again, this time hitting his nose. Crimson dotted the snow beneath them. Katie heard as blow after blow landed on Cedric. Finally, she sprung back to life, rushing to Malfoy and pulling him off the bleeding champion, who had crumpled to the ground.

"Draco!" she shouted. "Draco, please! Come on, let's get out of here." He was still staring at Cedric as she pulled him away. "We'll be in trouble if someone finds us, come on!" She finally managed to pull him around one of the hedges, snapping him out of his rage.

"Did he hurt you," he said, his eyes roaming her, looking for any marks. He noted the jacket draped over her shoulders and threw it to the ground. He quickly replaced with his own, which was a thousand times warmer and softer. "Are you okay, love?" Katie nodded. Everything felt surreal.

"I'm fine, he just said some mean things," she said, shaking her head. Draco balled his fist and tried to walk back around the hedge. "Draco, no! It's fine! They weren't true anyways."

"What did he say?" Draco asked, turning back to her. Katie hesitated.

"Nothing," she murmured. "Nothing important." She feigned a smile. "Come on, let's go back inside." Draco laced his arm with hers and led her back inside the castle, not without taking one more look at Cedric from the steps. A Beauxbatons girl was by his side now, performing Mending Charms on him.

Meanwhile, Katie's head spun. Juliette was Muggle-Born. Jack was right about one thing; how could her aunt be a Seer? She shook her head trying to clear it. As she moved, her gaze fixed on the arm that was linked in hers. Draco's forearm was almost visible through his white shirt. She couldn't see any sort of scarring there. Jack had to be wrong. Maybe he was lying about his mark. What if he hadn't been forced to get it? Had he gone bad like their parents? It was becoming too much. She wanted to be numb. On their way back to the Great Hall, Katie pushed Draco past the large doorways and towards the stairs to their common rooms.

"Wha–"

"Come on, love," she purred. "I bet we can have more fun back in your dorm."

***

Her dress lay on the floor, along with Draco's jacket. She was stark naked on his bed, while he remained completely clothed, placing sloppy kisses on her exposed skin. His hands danced across her body, cold rings leaving goosebumps behind them. She whined as they got close to her pussy, but he moved them before she could get any contact.

"Desperate," he chuckled. Katie made a move to take off his shirt but she found her hands pinned above her before she could do anything. The boy kissed across her chest, stopping to suck and lick her nipples. Soft moans came from her lips. Just as she was getting lost in the feelings, she felt his hands leave her wrists and come to her waist, pressing down.

_ Two hands came hard on her hips from near her head, pushing her into the mattress. She tried to move out of their reach but failed. One of the boys laughed. _

_ " _ Stop!" she cried out, clutching her head. "Stop!" Instantly, Draco took his hands off her and sat up. Katie's head was burning, pounding as if being split apart.

_ "Feisty, isn't she," the one near her waist laughed. The other, leaning over her with his legs planted firmly on either side of her head, held her waist tighter. _

Fragments of memory were flashing before her eyes, but they felt wrong. Like they belonged to someone else.

"Make it stop!" she screamed. The pain was getting stronger. It was pulsing behind her eyes, making everything go blurry.

_ "Open up now, be a good girl." One of the hands from her waist came to her jaw, holding it open. The hand on her hip was replaced by the other boy, while his other was pushing her panties to the side. _

She could barely hear Draco calling her name, the memories were too loud. Everything was pounding around her, she felt very weak.

_ "I could've had her in the Dark Lord's arms by Christmas. Why do you think I brought her here? She has to trust us, and our families, or none of this works." _

That was Draco's voice. Who was he talking to? Whose memory was this?

" _ The girl isn't important to me. _ "

Katie's world went dark.

***

Katie was in the graveyard again. The masked figures stood around her. Draco to her left, her mother to her right and the Dark Lord standing in front of her. She looked around, looking for a way out. A little ways behind her, she saw two bodies. She tried to focus on them, but she couldn't make out their faces. On her other side was a large tombstone with someone pinned against it. She tried to focus again. This time she clearly saw a face.

Harry Potter.

The third night. This must be it. This must be what her prophecy was referring to. Harry Potter was there to fight for her. It all made sense. Except...

Her eyes met Draco's. She saw fear and pain clouding them. He was the other who was there to fight for her. It was him.

"Kaitlyn Coventry," a high, cold voice called. "Join us." It was all coming back to her. This was the dream she had. She could remember it all clearly. She remembered her mum calling to her. She remembered Draco's pleas. She remembered the searing pain in her arm that was coming.

Katie jumped back, away from the Dark Lord's beckoning hand. She looked down. Potter was unconscious. He wasn't going to fight for her. She looked across to Draco, who could barely meet her eye. He slouched away from her. The Dark Lord stepped closer, reaching his arm out further towards her.

"No!" she screamed. "No, I won't join you!" Some of the Death Eaters laughed. The Dark Lord let out a small chuckle.

"Well," he said, coldly. "This is unfortunate, isn't it?" The Death Eaters nodded in agreement. A tear slipped down Draco's face. "Very well." He raised a wand at her. She stared down the white wood to his red, soulless eyes.

"Avada Kedav–"

***

Katie woke up screaming. Draco's arms were clutching her protectively.

"Shhh, it was just a dream, it's alright," he shushed her, holding her tightly. Katie felt her heart hammering in her chest. It's over now." She looked around. She was wearing the old pyjamas she had accidentally left at Draco's dorm the night of the party.  _ The Party.  _ That's where the memory was from. She could feel it.

Everything came back to her. The dream. The flashes of memories. Jack's warning. At the centre of it all was Draco. He was in the dream. He was in the memory. He was what Jack was warning her about. Nothing was making sense. How did he fit into all of it?

_ Two marked at birth shall fight, _ she remembered.

It was Draco. She remembered his face from her dream. He was the other one. She remembered the mark on Jack's arm; it looked enough like a scar. A scar caused by magic. That's what Hermione was missing, that was the scar.

"Take off your shirt," Katie said quietly. Her heart thundered in her chest. She was frightened. If Jack was right, if her dream had been right, then she was in danger.

"What?" he chuckled. "Darling, it's a little early for–"

"Take off your shirt, Draco!" she said louder, pushing away from him. She scrambled to her feet on the other side of the bed, the opposite side of the door. "You never take your shirt off when we have sex, Draco. I want you to take it off now." His features hardened.

"Why?" he questioned, rising to his feet on the other side of the bed.

"Just do it!" She was practically shouting now. "Show me the Mark, Draco!" A stunned look passed his face. Then, slowly, he undid the buttons of his white dress shirt. Katie's breath stalled in her throat. As he reached the final button, he shrugged his shoulders out of the fabric, letting it fall to the floor. She watched as he closed his eyes and turned his arm out to her. There, just as it had been on Jack's arm, was a serpent and a skull.  _ The Dark Mark. _

"Potter's not the only one who got a scar that night,"he said, his voice unfeeling. "How did you know?"

"When were you going to tell me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Katie, I–"

"No," she cut in. She could feel tears welling at her eyes. How could he have kept this from her. After everything he knew about her, how could he keep her in the dark like this? More importantly, why? If he truly wasn't as awful as people said he was, why wouldn't he tell her? Unless... Unless he did believe in the Dark Lord.  _ I could've had her in the Dark Lord's arms by Christmas.  _ Something clicked in Katie's head. This was his plan all along. That's why he couldn't meet her eye in the graveyard. He brought her there. It was all him. The tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She willed them back. He would not see her cry over this. "Just forget it." She stormed past him and out of the door.

When she made it back to her own dormitory, she sat against the headboard of her bed, the tear flowing freely now. It had all been a lie. She finally understood what had changed that night he started pursuing her. He hadn't fallen in love with her on Halloween. No... that night he had decided he would corrupt her. It finally made sense, why he persisted so hard, why he isolated her, why he introduced her to his friends; it was all to get her ready for You-Know-Who. He would've been the one to bring You-Know-Who a Seer. That's all she was to him, a pawn in some larger game.


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two - December 31rst

~tw: torture, Crutiatus Curse~

Draco had spent his holidays locked in his room. When he had arrived at King's Cross alone, nothing could've saved him from his father's wrath. He still hadn't spoken to them since they'd arrived at Malfoy Manor. His mother had been bringing him food to his bedroom, but even she was keeping her distance from him. He could tell she was disappointed; he had blown his last chance to save himself. It was over.

His house was filled with Death Eaters. People from all over had come to the house, all drawn by a burning in their scars. Draco had felt it too. The Dark Lord was getting stronger. Whatever was coming, it wouldn't be long now.

He wasn't thinking about Coventry. Since she'd stormed out of his room on Christmas, all he'd seen of her was an Owl she sent, a small box with his mother's pendant tied to its leg. He was refusing to let himself think about her, about the way she thrashed and screamed as the Memory Charm was broken, about the tears in her eyes when she saw the mark, about how it killed him to watch her leave. He would deny it of course, but some small part of him knew that she was more than just a pawn now. However, as much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, he knew he wasn't selfless in his feelings for her. The two were constantly battling; one part of him was upset he'd lost her because he felt something for me, the other was upset he'd lost his way out. Either way, he was miserable deep down and trying to force himself not to feel it.

He hadn't seen any of those house guests, but he heard them. Some voices he recognized, like Crabbe's father, but others seemed far too young to have been part of this last time. Perhaps his parents had been wrong, perhaps the Dark Lord had marked other babies? He knew it was foolish to hope for this. All he could do now was prepare, get himself strong enough to withstand whatever the Dark Lord was going to subject him to. His father would have too much fun with that.

"Stop being such a prat, Draco," he said to himself. "It's time to grow up. Come on." He was pacing the length of his room, the large floor to ceiling windows exposing him to the grounds below. The white coated ground was dotted with black figures. He could see his father and the rest of the Death Eaters casting protective spells on the gates. They were preparing for something.

Something occurred to him. If everyone was outside, maybe he could hazard a trip down to the kitchens. The food his mother was bringing was infrequent and scraps at best. His father was punishing him, no doubt. He walked to his bedroom door and pressed his ear against it. It was quiet in the hall. He twisted the handle and peered out. Draco saw no one. He crept out, still seeing no one, and made his ways towards the large stairs. Everywhere was deserted so far, much to his relief. He'd made it as far as the parlour when he heard the cold, drawling voice of his father behind him.

"Oh, Draco," he said. He heard the tap of his long cane on the hard floor. "Finally come down from your room, hmmm?" He could hear a dry laugh forming in his father's throat.

"Yes, Father," he said, turning slowly. "I have. Am I not permitted to be in my own house now?" Lucius Malfoy was standing in the doorway, flanked by Blaise's and Crabbe's fathers. They were all smirking indignantly at the young blonde boy standing in the parlour.

" _ Your own house? _ Funny," Lucius snickered. "I could've sworn this was  _ my  _ house, boy. As such, I can permit what I chose under  _ my  _ roof. Now..." he paused. "If you want to roam about this house, you will start acting like a member of this family."

"What do you want now?" Draco said curtly. "Kidnap a baby? Burn a house to the ground? Was gaslighting the daughter of two of your allies not enough, hmm?" He was getting brash. He pushed his chest out unwittingly, stepping towards his father. Alarm flashed in his father's eyes, followed by confusion in his compatriots. Draco had struck a nerve. His father pulled his wand from his cane.

"Listen to me, you ungrateful little git," his father growled, stepping closer to his son. "You better mind yourself, Draco. You wouldn't want everyone knowing how much of a  _ failure  _ you are. Outsmarted by a little Hufflepuff? Crabbe, would your son do that?" Crabbe's father grunted a no out. "See, Draco? more pathetic than even Crabbe. Now, I'm sure you wouldn't want all of your little school friends to hear that, now would you?" Draco swore smoke was coming out of his ears. He was so angry, it was taking everything in him not to strike his father right there. If only he hadn't left his wand upstairs. He swallowed hard, trying to steady his breathing.

"Fine," he said sharply. "What do you want from me now, Father?" His father smiled. It sickened Draco.

"There is a... problem... in the cellar," he said, carefully picking his words. "You want to prove yourself? Settle it." Draco remembered what his father had said earlier, when he was still at Hogwarts. There was still someone in the cellar. "Go on, Draco, tell Jack you're to help him now." Draco rolled his eyes and pushed past his father, sulking off to the stairs to the cellar. He was still fuming when he reached the bottom of the stairs and saw someone leaning back in a chair near the oak door. He seemed to be asleep.

"Oi," Draco snapped. The person sat up, startled at the sudden loud noise. He scrambled to his feet, looking frightened. "You 'Jack'?" The person squinted at Draco. Once he realized who it was, all of the fear dissipated and was replaced by anger; Draco saw his shoulders slouch and his fists ball. Draco realized something too; he was looking into the same green eyes he'd been staring at for the last two months.

"Where is my sister, Malfoy?" Jack questioned, clearly trying to stop himself from beating the younger boy senseless. "I thought she was coming. What have you done with her."

"Oh, fuck off, Coventry," Draco groaned. "Why is everyone on my arse about her? She's her own goddamn person, or have you forgotten? It's not my problem anymore."

"What did you do?" Jack choked out, slowly. "If you hurt her, I swear–"

"Bloody hell, I didn't hurt her, okay? God. She found out about my Mark, she ran off. Fuck if I know where she is, probably still at Hogwarts. Christ, she's fine, untwist your knickers, Coventry." Jack got quiet when Draco finished, clearly satisfied with the answer.

"Right," he said, quietly. "Why are you down here? Thought you were to stay up in your room for 'losing the girl'." Draco scoffed. For whatever reason, he didn't feel he needed to pretend with Jack. He could see right through his dutiful Death Eater routine; he was clearly here because of Katie, not because he believed in anything the Dark Lord preached. Although, Draco wasn't sure how much he believed anymore. Sure, ridding the world of mudbloods was something he could agree with, and of course wizards should be above and separate from the muggles; but the brutality the Dark Lord inflicted on other wizards to get what he wanted, Draco wasn't sure he was cut out for it. Jack certainly wasn't. He could remember him from Hogwarts, always fusing over some creature with that oaf of a Groundskeeper; he remembered Jack being a softie at best. Always had a knack for solving mysteries though, just like Paranoid Potter. There was no way Coventry just up and joined the cause. There had to be another reason he was there.

"My father is punishing me for your sister," Draco grumbled. "Told me to come 'settle the problem' down here." Jack flinched.

"Called it a problem, did he? I guess he's not wrong. I'm surprised he sent you though, I thought you were in on it."

"In on what?" Jack rubbed the back of his neck and approached the door. Draco heard him whisper the Unlocking Charm and the door clicked.

"After you, mate," he said, stepping aside. Draco pushed the door open. The cellar seemed empty. All he could see was one small oil lamp in the corner. His father was always one for the  _ traditional,  _ using oil lamps for the cellar was right in line with that. He saw some red splotches on the floor, ones that looked suspiciously like blood. And then he saw it; huddled in the corner, was a person. She was small, dirty, and looked underfed. She was shivering in the cold space. Draco peered further into the dim cellar. Something about the girl seemed oddly familiar.

"She's been here over a month," Jack said quietly. "Won't say anything. I've asked her every way, even tried the Cruciatus Curse, she won't say a word."

"What am I supposed to be asking her?" Draco asked, not taking his eyes off the girl.

"You don't know?" Jack replied, seeming alarmed by this. He pulled his wand from his pocket. " _ Lumos. _ " Light filled the room. Draco realized why the girl looked familiar; it was Juliette Cowan, Katie's best friend. Draco thought she had been pulled from school by her aunt. Clearly she had been pulled from Hogwarts, though he doubted her aunt had any idea of it.

"Why's she here? Since when do we keep mudbloods in the cellar?" Jack flinched at the derogatory term. Draco almost laughed– clearly he didn't believe in the Dark Lord.

"That's just it," Jack said, his voice barely audible. "She's not muggle-born."

"Course she is," Draco scoffed.

"Her 'aunt' is a Seer." Draco paused. Jack was right there, a mudblood couldn't have a Seer aunt. "She's gotta be at least a half-blood."

"Right," Draco said. "Why do we care?"

"Why was a fake muggle-born planted next to my sister at the sorting? The daughter of two of the most powerful and unknown Death Eaters under the Dark Lord's command? The same year that Potter came to Hogwarts? None of it makes sense, Malfoy."

"How are we supposed to figure it out?"

"For one," Jack said, handing Draco his wand. It was shorter than Draco's and a lot lighter. "The Cruciatus Curse is what your father suggested, so unless you know any other ways to get information..." Draco gulped. He'd never used an unforgivable curse before.

***

"Answer the goddamn question and he'll stop," Draco said, masking his fear with confidence. Juliette screamed and writhed on the floor. Jack pointed his wand at the witch, the Cruciatus Curse in full effect.

"Ne-ever," she choked out between screams. "I d-on't know an-ything."

"Why are you lying? Who are you really?" Jack shouted. The girl just screamed. The sounds were getting more and more desperate.

"Right, ease up, Coventry," he said to Jack, who pulled his wand away. Juliette gasped and panted, her body still shaking. Draco bent down next to her. "I can help you, you know," he purred, trying to sound soft and comforting. "You're in my house, remember, I know all the ways in and out. Tell us what we want to know, and maybe I leave the door open when I leave." Juliette just laughed a sickening, broken laugh.

"Oh, Draco," she said, her voice hoarse and low. Not even Jack, who was only a few feet away, would be able to make out what she was saying. This was for Draco alone. "It's so much bigger than you think. If you're here, then who's with Katie? No one? Hmm, what a shame. Hope nothing happens to her." If he hadn't heard it himself, Draco wouldn't have believed it. Juliette was a timid, bashful little thing. Now, she sounded like some sort of criminal mastermind. In an instant, the innocent school girl came back, loud enough for Jack to hear, as if the whole thing hadn't happened. But it had. Draco had heard every word. Katie was in danger. Juliette had all but said it. Draco stumbled backwards and stood up. He saw Jack give him a strange look.

"What did she say?" Jack asked, but Draco just snatched Jack's wand from his hand.

" _ Crucio _ !" Draco shouted, pointing the wand at the girl on the floor. Her screams filled the room again, but Draco pushed harder. As he focused, her screams got louder and louder.

"Malfoy! Ease up!" Jack shouted, but Draco couldn't hear him. His thoughts were screaming inside his head. What had she done with her.

"Who  _ are  _ you!?" he yelled. No response, only her screams echoing off the walls. "What have you done with Katie?"

"Katie?" Jack asked. "What about Katie?"

"Did you not hear her," Draco yelled back, not taking his eyes or the wand of the girl, who was now almost convulsing from the curse. "She threatened her! She's out to get her! What did you do to her?

"Answer him," Jack barked, a new fury in his voice. Juliette wasn't screaming anymore. Instead, hoarse laugher was spewing from her lips. Draco let up on the spell. He couldn't torture her to madness. They'd never find out anything if she lost her mind. But Juliette kept laughing, her body trembling. She pulled herself into a sitting position. The girl in front of him now was no longer the small, shy brunette with glasses. Her features were physically the same, but everything else was different.

"Silly boys," she chuckled, looking crazed. "Do you know how easy it was to get in her head? You," she nodded at Jack, "disappeared on her. And You," she flicked her head towards Draco, "You were fucking her head up since Halloween! You two boys could've cost me everything, you know. Luckily, you'll find I'm  _ quite  _ resourceful." She laughed.

"What did you do to her," Jack said, angrily.

"Doesn't watch her drinks, that girl," the crazed brunette snickered. "It was so easy to slip a Memory Potion into her pumpkin juice. Did you know that you can trigger a Seer early? I did!" She laughed again, but it turned into a cough.

"How would a filthy little mudblood know that?" Malfoy sneered.

"Ooh, you still haven't figured it out!" she cackled. "'Mudblood', how cute. My blood is purer than you could even imagine, Malfoy... actually, maybe you could imagine." She gave him a teasing look, daring him to figure it out. She was being cryptic, neither of the boys understood what she meant. How would Malfoy be able to imagine the purity of her blood?

"Katie!" he shouted. "What has this got to do with Katie?"

"Hmm, what day is it?" she asked. The cellars had no windows.

"Why?" Jack asked. But Juliette just laughed. Draco held the wand out again and she quieted.

"Oh? Are you going to use that on me again? Not very creative, are you?" Draco opened his mouth to say the curse, but Juliette interrupted him. "Okay wait! Wait!" Draco dropped the wand a little. "She's fine, for now, we don't have anything planned... yet."

"Who's 'we'," Draco said, not really asking. But Juliette stopped answering. She wasn't even laughing now, just staring past them, a cryptic look on her face.

***

"You need to calm down!" Jack shouted. They were back in Draco's bedroom. "We're not going to figure anything out with you freaking out like this. Stop pacing, Malfoy!" Draco froze and glared at the brunette.

"I'm sorry, Coventry, but I don't sit around and solve mysteries all day! I get things done!" Malfoy yelled back.

"Yea? How are you going to do that from here? Crabbe and Goyle aren't even at Hogwarts right now? What are you going to do without your body guards!"

"Try me! Keep pushing and you'll find out!"

"Okay this is stupid! We need to stop fighting," Jack said, throwing his hands up. "I don't care what that thing said, they're planning something against Katie, whoever they are. We have one shot to figure this out or she might be in real danger!"

"Fine! Fine," Draco said, running his fingers through his hair. "So what do we do?"

"I don't know," Jack said, he leaned back against the desk chair. "We need to figure out who she is. That's first. We find out who she is, we find out who 'they' are."

"Okay," Draco said. "And how do we do that?"

"I don't know, I found my parents by looking at the Ministry."

"Right so we just walk into the Ministry and demand to see a list of all the fake Muggle-Borns around London?"

"No, I didn't say that!"

"Well, what are you saying!?"

"Stop yelling at me! We're on the same side here, Malfoy! I don't want anything to happen to her either!" An awkward silence filled the dark bedroom. Neither wanted to be the one to speak first. Of course both of them didn't want anything bad to happen to her. But Draco felt guilty. It was his fault. If he hadn't gotten too attached to her, maybe he wouldn't have lost her. Then again, maybe if he hadn't gotten attached she would've seen through him. Either way, if he hadn't started messing around with her, maybe none of this would've happened. He was torn up.

"Alright," Draco finally said. "We find out who she is, then what?"

"Then," Jack said, thoughtfully. "We track them down, and keep them away from Katie. She has enough to worry about with slimy gits like you trying to bring her to the dark side."

***

Katie was up in the Divination Tower often now. Trelawney, as annoying and cryptic as she could be, was helping her with her Sight. Over the Holidays, she had taught her how to read tea leaves and crystal gaze. Even though she'd struggled with that in class, now she was doing both with ease. Trelawney said her Eye had been closed, but now, for some reason, it was open.

"I don't know why it has opened, my dear," Trelawney had said one day. "Sometimes it just opens. Other times... it is  _ forced. _ "

"And which am I?" Katie had asked.

"I'm afraid we may never know. Of course I  _ Know _ , but I don't really know, do you understand me?" She didn't. Katie nodded anyways.

Now, she sat opposite Trelawney in her hazy classroom, trying to make a prediction. It was coming relatively easy to her, she didn't even have to try to make something up, words were just appearing in her head.

"The second task won't go as planned," she said. "One champion won't even finish." She didn't know how she knew that, but it was true. She could feel it.

"Very good, my dear," Trelawney congratulated her. "With a little more practice, I would say you could be a world renowned Seer. Of course, I already know what you will be, but we cannot interfere now, no..." She trailed off, mumbling to herself. Katie took that as her cue to leave. That's how Trelawney ended all their lessons, by getting too wrapped up in her own thoughts that she forgot Katie was even there. Katie gathered her Tessomancy book and left the room, climbing down the silver ladder. When she finally inhaled the fresh air of the hallway, she almost felt relieved. As much as she liked Divination now, that room always gave her a headache.

Katie was enjoying the feeling of her lungs filling with smoke-free air that she hadn't heard the footsteps coming behind her. She hadn't heard the person pull the wand from their pocket. The only thing she did hear was a small " _ Stupefy _ " before the ground swam in front of her eyes and her body hit the floor.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three - December 31rst & January 2nd

Juliette, or whoever she was, had started laughing again. Draco's father sent him down to go "settle it" again. Jack came with him, again.

They found her in the same spot they had left her, cackling to herself.

"Oooh, you believed me, didn't you," she laughed. "'We have nothing planned! I promise!' Silly, silly boys!" Draco saw red. Something must've happened. He stormed across the room, picking the girl up by the collar of her no longer white shirt. Juliette spit in his face, making him drop her.

"Tell me what you did," he growled, pulling his wand out.

"Me?  _ I _ didn't do anything, I've been locked up here, silly," she giggled. Draco heard Jack moving behind him.

" _ Crucio _ !" he cried, hitting the girl. The screams refilled the room.

"Stop!" Draco shouted. "Stop, it's not working."

"She's done something to Katie, I'm sure of it," Jack cried.

"The curse doesn't work on her," Draco said, swatting Jack's arm and breaking the curse. "She's getting off on it, she's not going to tell us anything."

"Ooh, maybe you aren't so silly after all, eh Malfoy?" Juliette chuckled. Draco grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him out of the cellar.

"Look, just let me go back in, shut the door, I'll take all the blame?" Jack said, a frightening look in his eyes.

"What– No! You can't kill her!" Draco scoffed.

"No one would miss her! No one's even looking for her! She's been here for months!"

"We won't know what she's planning! Or how she knows something happened! Or who she is! Why am I the voice of reason here?" Draco shouted. Jack got quiet.

"Fine, you're back on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow. You go find Katie, first thing," Jack said, shutting the door to the cellar. " _ Colloportus. _ " The door clicked shut.

***

There was a pounding behind her eyes. Katie tried to open them, to clear her head, but something was covering her eyes. Her hands were bound behind her back. Her feet were tied in front of her. She could feel that she was on cold stone, but she didn't know where.

Her heart began to race. She was trapped. Katie struggled against her binding. She tried to scream but no sound was coming out. She must've been hexed.

She began hyperventilating.

"Shhh," a voice said from somewhere above her. "Shh, it's alright." The voice sounded female, but she couldn't be sure. "You're alright." Katie tried to speak again but still, nothing came out.

"You need to relax," the woman said. "You need to  _ relax! _ I'm going to let you go, I just need something from you, first." Katie's head went to all kinds of dark places. This woman was going to torture her. Or kill her. Or force her to do things.

"Oh stop being over dramatic," the woman groaned, as if she could read her mind. "Yes, I can read your mind." Katie tried to focus her thoughts. If she couldn't speak, she'd think everything she wanted to say.

"It's called Legillimancy, Katie," the woman said. "You'll be learning it soon, Dumbledore will insist on it as soon as he hears!"

"Marigold, shut up!" a male voice said, from some distance away. "Dumbledore won't hear, that's part of it!"  _ Marigold.  _ Her mother. This was her mother.

"Very good, Katie," she said. "I knew you'd figure it out."

" _ Shut up, Marigold! _ " the man yelled again.

"Oh, stuff it, Crouch," her mother quipped. "I'll wipe her memory if we have to! It'll be fine. You need to relax too."

"Just get the prophecy so we can let her go," the man, Crouch apparently, groaned. He sounded paranoid. "Dumbledore will expect me back in a couple hours, hurry up!"

"Fine," Katie's mother drawled. "Fine. Katie, sweetheart, this is going to hurt." Katie braced herself. She felt almost nothing. Then, all of sudden, pain flared through her skull, as if she was sharing the space with another brain and that brain was opening all the drawers of her mind. Memories soared past her mind. Coming to the MacMillans, getting her Hogwarts letter, her Sorting, first year, second year, third year. Her mother was looking for something. Then, fourth year started and all her memories with Draco started fluttering across her eyes. The soft moments, the hard moments, all of it.

"Oh! Barty, come look," she chirped. "Oh, well I guess you can't see. She's with the Malfoy boy!"

"Guess she was meant for Slytherin after all, just like you," the man said.

"I'm proud of my house, Barty," her mother said angrily. "I was the Dark Lord's most loyal servant! That only comes with being a Hufflepuff!"

"And power comes from Slytherin!" the man shouted. "You're foolish if you think you'll ever see any."

"Now, now, Crouch," her mum said. "Just because you're jealous–"

"I  _ found  _ him, Marigold! If I hadn't told you, you'd still be off running around Romania looking for him! You got the country wrong, by the way. Though Hufflepuffs were supposed to be 'excellent finders'!"

Her mum dived back into her mind. Her memories of Dumbledore's office swam into view. Her prophecy was ringing out in her head. She could see Dumbledore's old face in front of her.

"Got it!" her mother shouted gleefully! "There! That wasn't so bad was it sweetie?" She felt cold hands on her face in a way that seemed vaguely comforting. "Right, call the bloody Bulgarian, let's get her out of here. Sorry about this, again, hun...  _ Stupefy."  _ And the world went dark.

***

"No, I need to see her!" Draco shouted.

"She doesn't want to see you, Malfoy." Justin Finch-Fletchly said from the door to the Hufflepuff common room. "Just leave. Why can't you just leave her?"

"I don't give up as easily as you do I guess, mudblood," Draco said, harshly.

"Whatever," Justin said, pulling the door closed. "This is why she doesn't like you. Fucking bigot." Draco tried to catch it but missed the lip and it slammed shut.

"Filthy mudblood!" he shouted, though he was sure Justin couldn't hear him. He paced around the hallway. It was already January 2nd, an entire day had passed and he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Katie. The other Hufflepuffs were quick to assure him that she was fine and still extremely upset with him. Draco wouldn't believe it until he saw her.

That Juliette girl was still in his cellar. According to Jack, she was still laughing like a lunatic. Jack was the only one at Malfoy Manor who was speaking to him. His father, still angry for losing Katie, was even more annoyed that he got nothing from Juliette. His mother was keeping silent in order to spare herself his fathers wrath. He couldn't blame her.

Jack said he knew how she was communicating with whoever she was working with; he'd found a single shard of a two way mirror in the corner of the cellar Juliette had smashed it before he could find out where it led. At least the girl wouldn't be able to communicate with them any more.

"Malfoy!" someone called from behind him. Draco turned to see Cedric stalking towards his, anger clearly plastered to his heavily bruised face. In a few seconds, Cedric's hand was on Draco's collar, holding him up against the stone dungeon wall. A hard blow landed on his jaw. "What did you do to her?" Draco spat at Cedric, some blood coming out.

"What are you talking about, half-blood!" Draco spat.

"Where was she?" Cedric shouted, striking him again. Draco's head slammed back against the wall as his fist collided with his cheekbone.

"How the fuck would I know? I wasn't at the school!" Another blow. Draco's head started to throb.

"Neither was she! Where did you take her?"

"What? Where was she?" Draco was genuinely shocked. Cedric let him go and he slumped on himself. He could feel and see the blood from the cuts Cedric had inflicted.

"Two days ago," Cedric said, rubbing the blood off his knuckles. "She disappeared from the Divination Tower. Next time she was seen she was in her dormitory and couldn't remember how she got there. She's got blanks in her memory. Granger told me how one got there– do you know how guilty she feels now? How did the other one get there? What did you do this time?"

"I didn't fucking touch her, Diggory. She won't let me near her, hasn't since the ball!"

"Good," Cedric spat, tapping the barrels near the door to the Hufflepuff common room. "Keep it that way." Before Draco could protest, the door sprang open, Cedric slipped in and it banged shut again.

***

Her head wouldn't stop pounding. Besides the gaps in her memory, Katie found herself unable to think about anything without getting a splitting headache. Hermione was bringing her tonics and potions to heal her brain, but so far nothing was working for more than a few hours.

She'd been transferred to the Hospital Wing when they'd found her. Hannah and Justin had come into the dorm and found her laying on the floor. She was beyond unconscious; Madame Pomfrey said she had been hit with a powerful stunning spell. Dumbledore, Trelawney, even Snape, all tried to stimulate her memory but nothing would come.

Justin and Hannah were keeping up the illusion that she was in her dorm. Apparently, a certain blonde Slytherin was looking for her. The thought made her heart hurt worse than her head. How could she be so stupid? She'd let him fool her completely. She almost felt lucky; if she hadn't figured it out, would she be a slave to You-Know -Who now? It was all so stupid, how did she even fall for it in the first place? She wanted to hit something.

As angry as she was, she was equally hurt. She loved him. Or at least, it was the strongest she'd ever felt for someone. It was foolish, but she missed him. She missed the soft moments when he'd comfort her and stroke her hair. She wanted him doing that right now, easing the pain in her head. But she knew she could never have that with him again. He was evil, just like everyone else she'd ever loved; her parents, her brother, everyone.

The thought of her brother roaming the halls of Malfoy Manor made her want to scream. He was right that Malfoy was planning something, she'd give him that, but why had he taken on the Mark? It was a literal sign of evil that would be on his skin forever. Perhaps trying to figure everything out was contributing to her headache.

"Miss Coventry?" Madame Pomfrey said, jostling her from her thoughts. She stood at the foot of her mint linen bed looking perfectly put together. Katie always thought it was odd she was so put together when she spent her days cleaning up bodily wizard messes. It was actually kind of impressive. "Miss Coventry, there is a guest to see you."

Draco? Her heart leapt despite her head telling it not to.

"Sure, let them in," she said, trying to hide her excitement. Madame Pomfrey pushed back the curtain separating her from the rest of the wing. Walking towards her was a boy. A tall boy. Only this one had brown hair and hazel eyes. Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"Er, hi," he said quietly, coming to stand near the side of her bed. Justin carried a book and a bag with the Honeydukes logo on the front. "I brought you some sweets to, er, help? I guess? I'm sorry, I wasn't sure what would help. I brought Tales of Beedle the Bard, to give you something to do? I know Pomfrey said you're not allowed to do school work, but I figured this wouldn't count, right?" He was terribly awkward.

"Thanks, Justin," she smiled, inviting him to sit in the chair by her bed. "How have you been?"

"Been alright, Hannah's, well, a handful." Hannah and Justin had gone to the ball together, everyone had been gossiping that they maybe had gone as more than friends. "She's loving the rumours. Thinks it'll make Cedric jealous." Katie laughed for the first time in over a week. "I think she's a bit looney, to tell you the truth." They were both laughing now. It was an easy laugh, as it always was with Justin. He was kind, smart and funny. Every time she was alone with him she was reminded of why she'd fallen for him as a child. He was good.

"Can't really make him jealous when he doesn't know she exists," she giggled.

"In all honesty, I can't say I want to keep it up," Justin said sheepishly. "Pretending to be her boyfriend is more exhausting than a detention with Snape." Hannah was a handful, certainly, and little high maintenance. Katie couldn't imagine anyone dating her. "And I don't feel a thing for her."

"What," Katie teased. "Not even a little bit south of the border? Doesn't get your blood pumping?" She watched as Justin's face turned a deep shade of red. Katie broke out laughing.

"Oh, stop it, Coventry," Justin chuckled, his face still crimson. "Besides, it's not like we're  _ doing  _ anything. Hannah's dead set on  _ losing it _ to Cedric, after all." They both exploded with giggles at this. They both knew it was never going to happen.

They sat together for a while, laughing and eating the sweets Justin had brought. Eventually, Madame Pomfrey came to kick Justin out.

"Just five more minutes?" he asked. But Madame Pomfrey shook her head.

"The Headmaster needs to speak with Miss Coventry," the matron said, urging him up. "Time to go, Mr. Finch-Fletchley." Justin stood. As he was about to leave, he grabbed Katie's hand and squeezed.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" he said sweetly. Katie smiled and nodded. As Justin left the Hospital Wing, Dumbledore walked through the large doors. He shut them behind him. Only Madame Pomfrey, the Headmaster, and Katie were there now.

"Miss Coventry, how are you faring?" the old man asked, coming to sit in the chair that Justin had just been in. Katie tucked the sweets and book under her pillow.

"I'm alright," she said.

"Poppy tells me you have a head injury?" he asked, looking around. Madame Pomfrey made herself busy with some papers at the bureaux near her office. Katie nodded. "Did you fall? Hit your head on something?"

"No, sir," she said. "I don't remember. All I know is that someone has been tampering with my memories. Hermione performed a Memory Charm on me." She felt bad for Hermione, selling her out to Dumbledore like that. When she'd come to confess to her what had happened, where the fragments of memory came from, she'd practically been in tears. She thought she had been the cause of Katie's illness.

"Do not worry," the old man smiled. "Miss Granger has already told me what she did. I assure you, she did it in your best interest. She was only trying to help. And it is not Miss Granger's charm that did this." Katie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then what is it, Professor?" she asked.

"Are you familiar with Legilimency, Miss Coventry?" Why did the word sound so familiar to her? She shook her head. "It is the process of mind reading, in essence." Katie nodded. "One wizard can get into another's memories, see things how they saw it."

"Any memories, sir?" she asked. Something about this was all too familiar to her.

"Yes, Miss Coventry. Any memories at all." Katie felt like she knew something. She couldn't understand why it sounded familiar. The pounding in her head was getting worse again. Why did she know what Legilimency was? "The wizard would be able to pick and choose what memories they want to see, and force the owner to relive. It is a very difficult art. I, myself, am quite gifted at it, as are a number of professors, but I can't imagine a student would be able to accomplish this yet..." Dumbledore kept talking as Katie tried to figure it out. Legilimency. Legilimency? What was Legilimency? Suddenly, something clicked.

"Sir," she interrupted. "This... Legilimency... would it feel like... a dull swelling in your head? Like someone trying to share the space in your skull?" Dumbledore gave her an inquisitive look.

"It would, yes," he said. "Kaitlyn, did someone perform Legilimency on you?"

"I don't know, sir," she said, shaking her head and trying to clear it. "I can't remember it, all I can remember is the pain of it. I remember stepping out of the Divination tower, an insane pain in my skull, and then waking up here. I'm missing so many chunks of memory, Professor, like someone is deliberately messing with my mind."

"It is very likely," he began. "That someone may be trying to alter your memory. Or perhaps, retrieve something from it? That person must not be very familiar with Seers, they don't react to memory tampering well. Miss Granger was very lucky. Casting Memory Charms on those with the Sight can have quite dire consequences, which is likely what we are seeing here. Your mind has been invaded and wiped." Of course, Katie thought to herself, that's exactly what she needed. Someone poking around in her brain was definitely par for the course of the year she was having. Everything she thought impossible and improbable was coming true. She was getting really tired of it.

Professor Dumbledore explained to her that there was a way to prevent people getting into her head. "It's called Occlumency. I fear we may have to begin tutoring you."

"No need, Professor," she said. "Whatever they were looking for, they got it." She only felt that, she couldn't possibly know it. And yet, it was true.

"That is very likely true," the Headmaster continued. "Perhaps no lessons yet, however, I have a feeling you will be needing them soon. Next year, maybe?" He had a twinkle in his eye like he knew more than he was saying. Katie always thought that Dumbledore might be a Seer, or at least had some Sight. It wouldn't be surprising if he knew exactly what the future held.

Madame Pomfrey eventually called for Dumbledore to leave to let Katie recover. He gave her a small smile and left the Hospital Wing.

The sun was setting in the empty wing, leaving Katie alone with her thought. She sighed. After everything that had happened this year, very few things surprised her. What could possibly come next?


	24. Chapter Twenty Four - January 5th

Katie finally returned to classes. The pain in her head had subsided and Madam Pomfrey said she should be alright. Although she still had gaps in her memory from before the Hospital Wing, there weren't any new ones. She counted that as a win.

She'd made up with Hannah and the rest of the Hufflepuffs. There wasn't much they could be mad at now that she wasn't speaking with the Slytherins anymore. Cedric, Ernie and Justin were keeping her away from Draco, who still hadn't stopped trying to talk to her. She still hadn't spoken to him since Christmas.

Thankfully, she'd had some distraction. Hannah, Ernie and Justin had joined her in the library. It was just after dinner. She had been researching Legilimency almost everyday, determined to figure out who was tinkering around in her mind. She still had no luck.

"Hannah, everyone knows you and Justin aren't shagging!" Ernie laughed, earning a shush from Madam Pince.

"Okay but  _ Cedric  _ doesn't know that!" Hannah retorted.

"Yes he does," Katie giggled. "I swear I didn't tell him." Hannah grumbled something about still having a chance while the others laughed.

"Besides," Ernie continued. "Everyone knows Justin doesn't like  _ you  _ like that." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Ernie!" Justin blushed, smacking him on the arm. "Shut up!"

"Come on, Ern!" Hannah giggled. "Tell us!"

"Can't," the blonde boy smirked. "Bro code, man." Katie burst out laughing. Ernie was ridiculous sometimes. As she joked with her friends, she felt eyes on the back of her head. She didn't even have to turn to figure out who it was. His ice eyes were boring holes into her skull. She could almost feel the angry look on his face.

She couldn't bear it. He was so close and some deep, carnal part of her wanted to run to him. Katie wouldn't let herself think like that.

Draco sat, staring her down. Blaise and Pansy bickered beside him about something, he wasn't even listening enough to know what it was. Instead, he raked his eyes all over the girl two tables away. He had finally laid eyes on her. At least she was alright. She didn't look injured. And she was still really pissed at him, so clearly her memory was okay.

He felt useless. She was so close. All he really wanted was to take it all back. He had already contemplated wiping her memory again, but he doubted Hermione would help him.

"Draco," Pansy said, trying to get his attention away from the Hufflepuffs. "What do you think of me being an animagus?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, not paying attention. Pansy rolled her eyes.

"And will you be a flower girl at my wedding to Potter?" she sneered.

"Sure, whatever," Draco answered. His friends laughed. Pansy swatted his arm.

"Draco!" she shouted, earning a shush from Madam Pince. "Stop obsessing over the little orphan!"

"She's right mate," Blaise chirped. "I know she was important to the Dark Lord or whatever, but really, mate, you've gotta move on. I don't know what happened between you, but unless you're planning on something we don't know about, I think her ship has sailed."

"Right," Draco grunted. They couldn't possibly understand. He wasn't even sure if he did. He hated the way she made him feel; small, powerless, vulnerable. And yet, he felt a softness for her. A strange feeling he had never felt before. Weightless yet weighed down. It made no sense.

He heard the Hufflepuffs laugh at something the mudblood said. Stupid mudblood. Since Katie had started showing her face around the castle again, he'd been stuck to her. They spent all their time together, despite Abbott telling everyone that she was dating the mudblood. Draco hated the smile on her face, especially when it was caused by him.

He was so much better for her than that disgrace. She was a pureblood! She  _ belonged _ with another pureblood. Why was she stooping so low? It must have had something to do with him. She must be trying to make him jealous. As much as he wanted to convince himself it was about him, a small part of him feared she was actually happy. That she was actually lost to him.

The three Slytherins had walked back to their common room. Draco missed quidditch. Whenever he felt like shit before, he could always count on Flint to give him a hard practice where he’d forget everything, even just for a moment. But now, because of Potter’s precious tournament, he had nothing to distract him from the thoughts that clouded his every waking moment.

“Come on,” he said as they arrived back in their common room. He led his two friends to his dormitory. If he couldn't quiet his thoughts with anything else, he was sure fire whiskey would do the trick. He threw his door open and crossed to his bed. A slow burning anger was beginning to bubble within him. Who did she think she was? Throwing  _ him _ aside for a mudblood? He was a  _ Malfoy, _ he was the Dark Lord’s chosen one, he was the most powerful wizard in his year. How could she not want him? 

He snatched a mostly full bottle up from under his bed. He twisted off the cap and took a deep drink. The liquid burned his throat but he fought through it. When he was done, he handed the bottle off to Pansy, who took a small gulp. Before long, the three were tipsy. 

“I’m going to get Theo,” Pansy giggled, getting up to leave the room. 

“No,” Draco commanded. “I have a better idea.”

***

“Come  _ on _ , Katie!” Hannah whined. “I know you don’t like him anymore but we were invited!” She was holding a small note in her delicate hands. 

_ H.A. K.C. E.M. S.B. J.F.F. - ROOM OF REQUIREMENT: 9PM _

“No way,” Katie grumbled.  _ Of course _ , she thought,  _ now that you want something from him you're fine with him _ . Hannah annoyed her sometimes. She was an alright friend, but she really missed Juliette. She was always there for her, always listened to her.

“You don’t even know it's from him!”

“Yes I do,” she said definitively.

“But you don’t! He didn’t leave a name!”

“We hooked up there,” she said blandly. “All the time. He knows I’m the only one in the group who can get us in.”

“So then you need to come! Just to let us in!” Hannah gave her puppy dog eyes. Her bright blue eyes shone as she pouted. Katie sighed.

“Fine,” she said, defeated. Hannah’s face quickly changed into a smile as she wrapped Katie in a hug.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you!” she giggled. “Now get ready! It's already 9:30!” Hannah jumped up from the other girl’s bed and ran to the boy’s dormitory, likely to tell them the same thing. Katie rolled her eyes. As much as she wanted to pretend she was just going to let them in, she knew she was going to end up staying. She didn’t want to see him, and yet, she wanted him to see her. Katie went to her trunk. She pulled out a short skirt and a tight, low cut blouse. She had only worn this once before, some party after the first task, since she thought the shirt was way too slutty.  _ Perfect _ , she thought,  _ exactly what I’m going for _ . She threw the clothes on and put a small amount of makeup on her face. She looked slutty. 

Hannah, Susan and Katie met up with Ernie and Justin in the common room when they were all dressed. Hannah was dressed just as sluttily as Katie, but the others looked exactly as they normally did; t shirts and jeans. Hannah grumbled about it for five minutes before they snuck out of the common room. The five students made it unnoticed up to the seventh floor. They passed other students who were heading the same direction, but no one spoke or said anything. They waited around a corner for Peeves to pass by where Katie knew the door was before finally sneaking up to the door. Katie had finally mastered asking the room for what she wanted. She’d asked it for  _ very _ specific things when she had gone into it with Malfoy. It never disappointed. 

“I need to go to the party,” she whispered, and repeated it over and over in her mind. Suddenly, a door materialized in front of her and her friends. She turned back to them and gave them a smile as they stared with awe-struck looks. “Come on,” she said, grabbing the handle and slipping the door open. The five students crept into the room.

The dark room smelt like weed and whiskey. The smell immediately gave Katie a headache. She finally knew why; Hermione had come clean and told her what she had done. Katie was grateful she couldn't remember what happened at the last part she went to based on what Hermione told her she’d wiped from her memory. The room looked a little like the Slytherin common room, as it was dark with dark leather couches everywhere, with doors and hallways leading off the main room. Katie assumed that Malfoy must’ve been the first to enter the room. All around, people danced and grinded on each other. Loud, rock music played from an unknown source, despite everything being silent out in the hall. Katie couldn't help it but start to get excited. Maybe this would be fun.

“Ah!” Hannah squealed, grabbing Katie’s hand. “Thank you! We are going to have so much fun!” Katie nodded and smiled at her. She let her pull them towards a group of Ravenclaw girls who were passing a joint around. Katie smiled, recognizing Luna Lovegood in the group. Hannah knew another one of the girls from some club they had joined and she handed the Hufflepuff the joint. She inhaled deeply before descending into a coughing fit. Katie started giggling and took the small roll from her friend’s hand. She brought it to her lips and inhaled slowly. It didn't hurt as much as she remembered, so she managed to take a few hits before she started coughing too. The girls giggled.

“Its okay,” she heard a soft voice say. “I cough too.” She looked up to see Luna smiling at her. She held out a red cup. Katie accepted it and downed the liquid inside. It felt like it was coating her lungs, taking the burning away. 

“Thanks,” Katie said, handing her back the cup. “What is that?”

“A boy named Neville made it for me,” she smiled, sitting down on the couch beside Katie. “Grew the muggle weed too. He knows how much it hurts me so he came up with some plant juice that fixes it.” Katie giggled. Luna’s voice seemed to swirl around her. 

“Well, tell the Neville boy thank you from me too,” she laughed. Her and Luna sat together, quietly giggling, until some came and sat down beside her. Ernie perched next to Katie, giving Luna a smile.

“Alright,” Luna said. “ He wants to talk to you alone, I understand. Come find me later if you want, Katie. Bye!” She gave them both smiles before standing and leaving. Katie turned to the boy.

“What?” she said. Ernie smirked at her.

“I know something,” he said, cryptically.

“Thats a first,” she chuckled, leaning back against the leather fabric.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Ernie grumbled. “No. I know something that you want to know.”

“So tell me,” she said blandly.

“Whats in it for me?” 

“I wont tell your mother that youve been drinking.”

“Tell her that and I’ll tell her you’ve been smoking,” Ernie said cheekily. “She’s your parent too.” Katie felt conflicted. Yes, the MacMillans were family. But now that she knew her parents were alive, it was hard to think of Mr and Mrs MacMillan as anything close. 

“Fine,” she said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. “Tell me and I’ll get you a date.” Ernie’s mouth spread into a devious smile.

“Deal,” he said cockily. “It's about Justin.”

“Wow,” she said dryly. “Shocker.”

“It's you, dumbass,” he chuckled. “In the library earlier, when we were talking about who he fancied. It's you.” Katie smiled to herself. If this had been September, this revelation would have sent her over the moon. But now, after everything, it barely lit a fire. She tried to force herself to feel something, but there was nothing. 

“Wow,” she said, trying to feign excitement. 

“He’s drunk,” Ernie added, nodding across the room. “If that helps.” She looked where he indicated only to see Justin finishing a bottle of Firewhiskey with Susan. She chuckled. He looked surprisingly at ease; all of this sober awkwardness gone. He was being confident and cocky, leaning back against the wall. She couldn't help but realize who he looked like. That lit something. 

His honey coloured eyes met hers from across the room. The look he was giving her was something she’d never seen on his face before; she’d only ever seen  _ that  _ look in icy blue eyes. Justin winked at her, before turning to continue his conversation with Susan. Katie felt butterflies traveling down past her stomach. She liked Justin like this. She liked  _ Justin. _ She tried to force thay into her brain, muffling the small voice that was telling her that the only reason she was interested in him right now is because he was acting like– 

“Hello, beautiful,” a voice purred from beside her.

“Knock it off, Ern,” she chuckled. 

“Never been called that before.” A large hand settled on her knee. Cold rings pressed against her skin. Panic rose in her chest. She opened her eyes and spun to face the person sitting next to her. Draco Malfoy.

“Fuck off, Malfoy,” she said, picking his hand up off her and moving it away.

“Oh, come on,” he cooed, moving his hand to her collar. His cold fingers danced against her neck. “Is that any way to talk to me?” Even though she was still really high from Luna’s joint, she could smell the alcohol dripping off his breath.

“You’re drunk, Malfoy,” she said pointedly. “And we broke up. You’re a Death–”

“No,” he whispered, his finger coming to her lips and shushing her. “Don’t say something you’ll regret.” Katie felt electricity everywhere his cold skin touched. “I could make your life hell, Coventry. I know who you are. I know who  _ your parents _ are.”

“Whatever,” she said, forcing herself to move his hand. “I’ll keep your dirty little secret. Just leave me alone.” His hand returned to her knee.

“Now now,” he said softly. “I know you don’t want that.” His hand started to move up her leg. “I know you’re thinking about me, aren’t you. Thinking about what I can do, how I can make you feel. You remember, don't you? How good it feels when my fingers are–” Katie had to leave. She jumped up from the couch. He was right. She was thinking about that, about all those things. She couldn’t let herself think those things. She crossed the room, leaving him sitting alone. Katie wouldn't even look back. 

Before she realized what she was doing, she was standing in front of Justin. Her emerald eyes met his honey ones.

“Hey,” he said, smirking.

“Hey,” she whispered. She watched as Justin’s eyes trailed down her body, stopping at every curve. She felt something coursing in her veins. Malfoy had gotten her riled up. Looking into Justin’s eyes, she could see that he was feeling the same way. 

“Wanna get out of here?” he asked, a wicked look in his eyes. 

“Sure,” she said. As she turned to leave, she saw Malfoy still sitting on the couch where she had left him. His hand balled into fists, he glared at the two Hufflepuffs. “Actually,” she said, turning back to face Justin. She stood on her toes and brought her mouth right next to his, lips almost touching. “I want to do something here first.” 

“By all means,” he whispered. Katie leant up and closed the gap between their two mouths. 

His breath was hot and tasted like whiskey. His tongue flitted against her lips. His hands came to her waist, grabbing at her skirt. She let her hands go to his dark hair. Everything about him was different, softer somehow. She didn’t mind. Behind her, she could hear someone stand up and stomp away. She pulled back from Justin, smiling. 

“He’s gone,” he said, smirking and looking past her. Katie giggled.

“Come on,” she said, taking his hand. “Let’s get out of here.”


	25. Chapter Twenty Five - January 5th

Her hands came down on the side of his face. She felt him hike her skirt up as he pushed her back against the cold stone wall. They’d ducked down a side hallway once they’d left the Room of Requirement, finding a hidden alcove where they wouldn’t be seen. 

Justin’s hands moved from her legs to her waist, making her jump into his arms. He pressed her up against the wall, her legs wrapping around his back. She felt his mouth leave her lips and move along her jaw to her ear. He placed drunk, sloppy kisses on her pale skin. She gasped as his teeth nipped gently at her earlobe. Her hands went to his soft, brown hair and tangled themselves in it. His mouth moved again, going lower to her collarbones. Katie let her hands find their way from his hair to the bottom of his shirt. She grabbed the buttons and tried to undo them. Her drunken fingers slipped the whole time. 

“Wait,” Justin whispered against her skin.

“What?” she cooed, continuing with the buttons.

“Just, Katie, wait…” Justin whispered, pulling his head away. He held a finger up to her lips so silence her. “I heard something.”

“Come on,” she whined, nipping at his neck. “It's probably nothing.” She could feel a burning growing in her core. She hadn’t gotten some in so long, and the intoxication in her blood was making her want it even more.

“No, just wait,” he said, putting her down and peering around the corner towards the main corridor. Katie went to look when he pushed her back against the wall. Suddenly, two voices faded into her head. 

“Look, I don't know what you want me to do here!” one voice whisper-shouted. “I tried, she gace up on me, I tried again today, she walked out on me and made out with a mudblood! I give up, man.”  _ Draco. _

“Malfoy, you heard what that  _ thing  _ said!” a voice answered, sounding further away, as though through a telephone. “They can get to her at any time, anywhere. Someone out there is after her. You have to keep watching out for her.” Katie recognized that voice easily. What was Jack talking to Draco about? Why would they even be talking? 

“Your sister hates me!” Malfoy shouted a little louder. “I can’t help her if she can't stand being in the same room as me!”

“Merlin, Malfoy, you charmed her once! You didn’t even like her then! Just do what you did before, but this time you don’t have to fake it!” Katie’s head was spinning and not just from the drugs. 

“Shut it, Coventry,” Malfoy growled. “Just because I–”

“No you ‘shut it’,” Jack interrupted. “I know you have feelings for her. Alright? And I don’t care. But if something happens to her while she's there I’m holding you personally responsible. Got it? I can go upstairs right now and let your father know that you’re having doubts about joining the Dark Lord.”

“Whatever,” Malfoy said quietly. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do.”

Katie heard footsteps and then the hallway was silent again. She felt a strange emotion rising in her chest. Who did they think they were? Discussing her life without even including her? Her brother sending a literal Death Eater to ‘look out for her’? If she was in danger she could handle herself. What did they know that they weren’t telling her? And why was her brother trusting  _ Malfoy _ of all people. 

“So that was…” Justin stuttered. “Katie, I–” Katie cut him off by crashing her lips down onto his. She needed distraction. 

“You’re right,” she said, only pulling slightly away. “Let's go somewhere more private.

***

Draco shoved his two-way mirror back into his jean pocket. He cursed inwardly for letting himself get mixed up in all this. It was bad enough when his father wanted him checking in on Coventry, but now that her brother wanted him to… what? Protect her? It almost made him laugh about how absurd it was. She wanted nothing to do with him, how was he supposed to watch out for her when she couldn’t even handle being in the same room as him?

He groaned internally at the task before him. He knew Jack was right. He didn’t even care if Jack was going to tell his father anything. Malfoy knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if she got hurt. He felt sick at the realization. 

“Dray!” a drunken voice called as he re-entered the Room of Requirement. Pansy was strutting over to him, stumbling as she went. “Draco, baby, why are you so sad? Is it because of that girl? She’s not even worth it!” Pansy’s hands were moving around his body, feeling all of his muscles beneath his clothes.

“Fuck off, Pansy,” he grumbled.

“Oh come on, Draco,” she purred. “I can make you feel so much better. I’ll make you forget about her.” He went to say no. He wanted to say no. But something inside him stopped him. Something primal. 

He grabbed the dark haired girl’s wrist and pulled her off towards one of the hallways leading off of the main room. He heard her giggling as they went. He reached a dark wooden door and threw it open. Inside, the room was almost identical to his bedroom at Malfoy Manor. He was the one who initially went into the Room of Requirement and it must have just made the room from places he had already been. Once Pansy was in the room he slammed the door shut, pressing her up against the cold wood. HIs lips roughly found hers, kissing her harshly.

***

Katie dragged Justin back to her dorm room. As they entered the shared room, she whispered “ _ Colloportus _ ” against the door, locking everyone out. She resumed their kiss, but some of the passion was gone.

His hands moved slowly and carefully down her body, as if afraid she would break. His warm fingers came to the hem of her skirt, slipped beneath the fabric. That seemed to be as far as he was willing to go. Katie moved her own from his hair down his chest. She tugged on the bottom of his buttoned shirt and helped him lift it over his head. She pushed him to the bed, straddling his hips. Katie kissed down his body. He was more built than Malfoy, Chasers did much more work than Seekers, his skin warmer and softer.

Katie left marks on his skin. The little purple bites seemed dull on his skin; it wasn't half as pale as Malfoy's. Everything about this was different. His hands were too gentle, his kisses were too soft, none of it felt the way she wanted it to. All of the alcohol fueled passion from earlier had clearly dissipated. Still, this was what was good for her. Sex with Malfoy was extreme and toxic, sex with Justin was soft and loving. This was healthy.

***

Pansy kissed down his body, leaving stark marks on his alabaster skin. Her lips were sloppy and needy. It made him feel sick. She was practically throwing herself on him. Katie would never act like this, she made him work for it. He couldn't deny it, he liked the chase.

He leaned his head back against his bedsheets, his bare chest exposed. Pansy hadn't flinched when she saw his Mark. His hands came to her throat, squeezing and making her choke as she kissed him. It made him smirk. She was so desperate for him, she'd never dare stand up to him.

Malfoy grabbed at the bottom of Pansy's blouse. He pulled it up over her head. As much as he tried to get himself to admire her body, he couldn't. Nothing about her got his blood pumping; it was like looking at a piece of meat.

***

Katie's hands came down to her own shirt and pulled it over her head. She heard Justin gasp at her body. She waited for him to touch her but his hands stayed firmly at his side. She was frustrated. She couldn't get Draco off of her when they'd been together but getting Justin to initiate anything was like pulling teeth..

She took off her bra by herself. She brought his hands up to cup her tits. He grabbed her gently, not even half as much as she wanted. Katie let her hands trail to his belt buckle. She tried to undo it as slow as possible, but it seemed to have no effect. Nothing she was doing was making him lose control. She thought back to those times with Malfoy when she’d tease him and he’s become almost feral. Justin was nothing like that.

“Touch me,” she commanded, trying to get some form of stimulation. One of his soft hands came to her nipple and lightly touched her sensitive bud. Katie almost screamed from frustration. She was getting nothing from him. She rolled them over so he was on top and pulled her skirt off by herself. Katie tried to move his hands down to her frustrated heat but he seemed too tentative to actually touch her.

***

“Get on your knees,” Draco commanded, flipping them so he was on top. He spun Pansy so she was on her hands and knees, ass exposed to him. He undid the zipper of his pants and pulled himself free of the clothing. He was hard, but not nearly as much as he would be if someone else were in front of him. If it were Katie there, nothing would be able to stop him from slamming into her as hard as he could to make her scream out for him. If it were Katie, he would have her writhing and moaning for him in seconds. He felt himself twitch. Just thinking about her was having more of an effect on him than Pansy. The girl’s hands came to her ass, her black manicure nails spreading her cheeks for him. Nothing. He felt nothing. 

Still, he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity. If he wasn’t going to get anything from Katie, he might as well fuck someone else. He positioned his head at her opening and slowly pushed in. HIs eyes closed as her warm walls wrapped around him. If he thought about it hard enough, he would almost pretend that it was the little blonde Hufflepuff that he was slowly sinking into. A groan escaped his pursed lips. He grabbed her hips roughly, pulling her down onto him. 

***

Katie's own fingers touched her clit gently. She could see that Justin was watching her every move with a look of desire on his face.  _ If this is turning you on so much why don’t you just touch me,  _ she thought bitterly. BUt the feelings were becoming too much. Pleasure was slowly starting to creep up on her. She reached out and pulled his fingers down to her pussy. Slowly, he copied the movements she was making.  _ Finally.  _

At the same time, Katie pulled on his belt until it undid itself. She pulled it from his pants and threw it to the floor. She managed to undo his button and pull down the zipper until she could finally pull his pants clean off. She saw his bulge through his boxers but it was nearly as big as Draco’s. A wave of disappointment washed over her.  _ No _ , she thought to herself,  _ Justin is healthy. Justin is what you need.  _ She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince anymore, because it certainly wasn’t working on her. Every inch of her wanted Draco’s cold hands on her skin. She wanted his dirty words, his painful hands… him. She wanted him. 

Her hands went to the waistband of Justin’s boxers. He finally seemed to understand what she wanted. He freed himself from the fabric. 

“Are you sure?” he asked, positioning himself. “We don’t have to do–”

“Just shut up and fuck me.” Justin groaned as he pushed himself into her. It was underwhelming. 

***

“Cum for me, Draco,” Pansy moaned. 

“Shut up, you stupid slut,” he hissed, pushing her head into the mattress to stifle her moans. It was easier to pretend it wasn’t Pansy when she wasn’t talking. In his mind, he was thrusting into Katie over and over again, her loud, gentle moans filling his ears. He thought about the look she got on her face right before she was about to cum. The idea sent sparks down into his member. He thrust into Pansy faster.

He could feel his orgasm building. Katie’s pleasured face swirled around his mind. All he could think of was her. Her face. Her smell. Her touch. It was her. He needed her. The more he fantasized about the blonde girl the closer he got. 

“Yea, you like this don’t you?” he said, getting caught up in his fantasy. “You like it when I fukc you like a dirty slut, don't you?”

He was pretty sure Pansy answered but he wasn’t paying attention. In his mind, Katie whined and moaned for him.

***

Justin thrusted into her hard now. She was getting caught up in the feeling. Her hands went to her clit. She was sure that he wasn’t going to make her cum, and there was no way she was dealing with any more of this frustration. She rubbed quick circles over the sensitive ball, working herself up. She could feel something building in her. She remembered when Malfoy would do this to her; how his cold hands made all the feeling so much more intense. A moan guiltily escaped her lips involuntarily at the thought of the blonde boy. She felt bad for fantasizing about someone else but she was too caught up in the pleasure to really care.

Justin’s thrusts became more sloppy, signifying he was getting close. Katie picked up the pace with her own fingers, determined to cum first.

***

Draco’s thrusts were getting messy as a stream of profanities poured from his mouth. He was close. In his head, Katie was bouncing back and forth from his strokes, moaning loudly. 

Pansy let out a high pitched moan, breaking him out of his fantasy. But it was too late, waves of pleasure were already starting to take over his body. 

“Katie,” he groaned as shot after shot came out of him, filling the dark haired girl. He shook as his orgasm took hold of him.

When he finally came down, he quickly found his clothes and dressed himself. By the time Pansy sat up, he was already gone.

***

Katie was on the edge of her orgasm. Justin’s thrusts were so shallow she knew she didn;t have a lot of time left.

“Cum for me, sweetheart.” Draco’s voice was in her mind. She imagined it was his hands touching her, his cock slamming in and out of her. Just the thought of him was enough to send her over the edge. Her body shook as her high washed over her, moans streaming from her lips. She felt Justin begin to cum soon after but all she could picture was Draco’s cock shooting into her. 

“Fuck, Katie,” Justin moaned as the last of his orgasm rocked his body. He laid down next to her in her small bed. Katie just stared at the canopy of her four poster bed. Shame consumed her. Malfoy made her cum, despite not even being in the room She just used Juston. It made her feel like shit. 

“Hey, Katie?” Juston said, softly. “I er, well, I wanted to ask you something. I was going to do it earlier at the party but I kind of forgot because of… well..” He smirked and brushed his thumb over her lips.

“Oh!” Katie was alarmed. She didn’t want him to say it. If he tried to confess anything to her it would just make everything worse. 

“I was wondering if, er, you wanted to–”

“Justin, I…” she interrupted. She couldn’t let him finish. 

“OH! You don’t… that's okay I just… I’m sorry if I…” he trailed off. A heavy awkwardness settled on the room. Katie suddenly became aware of how naked she was. She pulled her yellow quilt over her body and turned away from the blushing boy. She felt like a monster. 

Before she realized it, she heard Justin stand, pull his clothes on, and head to the door.

“Hey,” he said before he left. “Don’t feel bad, okay? Really, it's no problem. I’m just happy that we got to… well, you know. Don’t feel bad if you don’t feel the same way, Katie. Really.” She could almost hear the sad smile on his face. Why was he so nice? Couldn’t he just tell her that he hated her and that he never wanted to see her again? Why did he have to take it so well? “Well, I’ll see you later, okay?”

As the door closed, noiseless tears began to stream down Katie’s still flushed cheeks.


	26. Chapter Twenty Six - January 25th & 30th

Katie wished she were dead. 

Obviously not literally, otherwise she would have acted already, but she wished she were anywhere but Hogwarts. 

Justin was acting as if nothing happened. He was being perfectly sweet to her, as though they were still best friends. Everyone was being so nice to her. It made her sick.

The only thing that got her mind off it was spending time with Ron, Hermione and Harry. Since she’d informed them about the other “marked at birth”, they’d devoted their time to figuring out the third night. So far, all they could figure out was the third task. 

“Can’t we take a break, ‘Mione,” Ron grumbled. “My eyes are gonna fall out of my head if I have to read anymore of this.” Katie heard Hermione sigh. The stretch of Gryffindor table that they were occupying was filled with history books, astronomy charts, and ancient grimoires that Harry snuck out of the restricted section. 

“Oh, alright,” she said, closing her own book. Katie was grateful; her eyes felt heavy and blurry from pouring over the books. “Katie, I've been meaning to ask you something.”

“What’s up, ‘Mione?” Katie said, turning to face the brown haired girl. She watched as the girl dug through her bag. She sat up, pulling a small pin out of the dark bag. 

“I wanted to ask you to join S.P.E.W.!” she chirped.

“S.P.E.W?” she asked, stifling her giggles. “Spew? If that’s some sex thing you and Ron–”

“No!” Hermione blurted out, her face turning red. “I don’t even… we’re not… Ron’s not…” Katie laughed. It was fun winding Hermione up.

“It’s okay, ‘Mione,” Katie giggled. “I’ll join, what do I have to do?” The blush started to recede back down her neck. 

“For now,” Hermione said, regaining herself. “Just wear the pin. Eventually, I’m going to hold rallies, start massive clothing drives. It’s all going towards total Elf liberation!” Katie was shocked. The MacMillans had a house elf, a nice little elf named Alice. She couldn’t imagine little Alice not wandering around the old house.

“What makes you think they even want to be freed?” Ron grumbled, rubbing his temples.

“Because Ronald!” she shouted. “No one wants to live as a  _ slave! _ ” Katie picked up the pin and fastened it to her robes. Hermione was right; as nice as the MacMillans were to Alice, there were probably thousands of elves being tortured in slavery for wizards.

“I think it’s a great idea, ‘Mione,” Katie said, straightening the pin on her robe. Hermione gave her a grateful smile. 

“Oh it’s such a good idea, mudblood” a cold voice drawled from the table behind Katie. “Bad enough they’ve given you a wand, now you want the  _ help  _ to get them? Just wait until my father hears about this, he’ll be pulling me out of this ridiculous school by the end of the term.” Something was bubbling up in Katie. 

“What’s your problem, Malfoy,” she said, whirling around. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson sat in a little circle at the Slytherin table. Katie clenched her fist under the bench. He was such an ass, such a spoiled little–

“Just having some fun, Coventry,” he smirked. “See, while you’ve been off freeing the elves, or whatever it is you blood traitors do, I’ve been offered a new position. Father thinks my studies would be better off at Durmstrang. He’s on the board of Hogwarts, you know. Met loads of Wizards from there this year, much better than Hogwarts graduates, you know.” Katie bristled at his callous attitude. Ever since that night in the Room of Requirement, Malfoy had taken to treating her as if nothing had ever happened between them; as if she was just some girl. Some ‘blood traitor’.

“Oh no! Whatever would we do without you?” she said dryly. “Hogwarts is nothing without its spoiled little pureblood.” Malfoy flared his nostrils, anger flashing through his icy eyes.

“Oh, come on now, Coventry,” he said, a different tone to his voice now. “You know you’d miss me. In fact, half the girls in our year would, wouldn’t they Pansy?” Parkinson lowered the collar of her button down shirt, revealing a dark hickey.

“Of course, Draco,” she said, smirking at the looks on Katie and Hermione’s faces.

“Shut up, Malfoy,” Harry growled. 

“Oh you’re still here?” Malfoy said blandly. “Thought you’d be expelled by now.” Katie watched as Harry stood up, his wand out and pointed at Malfoy’s head. 

“Harry!” she shouted, jumping to her feet. “Stop it, you’re gonna get us all in trouble.” 

“Yeah, Potter,” Malfoy chuckled. “You better listen to her. You orphans need to stick together, can’t have you all–”

But his taunt was cut short by Katie spinning back to face him and landing a punch square on his jaw.

“Katie!” Hermione gasped. She could hear Ron cheering behind her. Harry stood just as still as she was. Malfoy rubbed his jaw sensitively. Pansy stood up, practically crawling across the table to get at Katie, but Malfoy raised his hand.

“No, Pansy,” he said, stopping her. “This filthy little blood traitor isn’t worth it. Come on.” With that, the Slytherins stood from their table and stormed out of the Great Hall. As he passed her, Malfoy leaned down subtly to Katie’s ear.

“Watch your back, Coventry,” he hissed. “You’re making a  _ very _ powerful enemy.” Before he walked away, Katie shot back.

“So are you.” Her voice barely sounded like her own.

***

“You did  _ what?! _ ” Hannah shouted when she finally made it back to her dormitory. The story of her hit on Malfoy had already travelled the castle. “I mean, I wish I had been there to see it!”

“Blimey,” Susan said, once Hannah had filled her in. “I thought you two were–”

“Merlin, Suzie,” Hannah chuckled. “They’ve been over for weeks! D’you really think we’d all be talking to her if they were still shagging?” Katie flinched. Of course they wouldn’t be, they made that infinitely clear. Especially Hannah. Katie had yet to confront her about burning her Yule Ball Gown. In fact, they both seemed to act as if it hadn’t happened. 

“It’s not that big of a deal, guys,” Katie said, shaking her head. “It was stupid.”

“It was brilliant,” a voice said from the doorway. Justin stood smiling from the door. Behind him, Ernie was acting out the whole scene by himself. “Heard about it from Terry Boot in Ravenclaw, everyone’s talking about it.”

“Oh,” she said, slumping down on her bed. “Great.” That was honestly the last thing she wanted. The whole castle talking about her, talking about Malfoy… gross.

“Oh come on, Katie,” Hannah smiled. “Everyone loves it! Especially since everyone kind of hated you when you were dating…” 

“What?” she said, snapping up at the girl. Hannah’s face was starting to turn red. “Everyone  _ hated  _ me?”

“Well, not you exactly,” Susan said, her eyes darting back and forth, looking for someone to help. “Mostly Malfoy. And I guess cause you were with him… you too?” Katie rolled her eyes and laid back on her mattress. Of course everyone hated her. She hated herself. She hated everything. 

“Anyways…” Hannah said, trying to change the mood. “What are you guys even doing here?” 

“Right,” Ernie said, pushing past Justin into the room. “See, Zacharias heard about your punch and he's a git, right?” Everyone nodded. Zacharias Smith was an asshole, he was a snitch that constantly got everyone in trouble. He was easily everyone’s least favourite Hufflepuff. “Well, I heard that he was going to tell Sprout, but before he could he… wait no, that’s not how it went.” Ernie was notoriously bad at telling stories. He settled down on Katie’s bed and scratched his chin. 

“He was going to tell Sprout after Herbology tomorrow,” Justin corrected. “But apparently some Slytherins cornered him in the hallways outside of Potions. He’s in the Hospital Wing.” 

“What!” Katie said, sitting up quickly. “Because of me?”

“No, not because of you,” Ernie said quickly. “No, he was going to snitch on you, it’s his own damn fault!” 

“Should we go see him?” Susan softly. 

“No way!” Ernie said sharply. “He’s a selfish git!” The five students sat in silence for a minute. 

Katie felt like rubbish. No matter what her friends said, it was her fault. She groaned internally. If only Divination actually worked, if she could really see the future– like really see it, concretely, certainly– maybe she would’ve seen it coming. Instead, she gets glimpses and riddles to fill her days. She almost started laughing at how ridiculous it was; she was a Seer and yet she felt like she was the last person to know anything. Her brother knew about Malfoy before her. The school knew about Zacharias before her. It was laughable. 

“So, what do we do?” she finally said. 

“Don’t know,” Ernie said, quietly.

“You started a House war, Katie,” Hannah said, giggling softly. “I mean, of course it was going to happen. You attacked the ’Slytherin prince’, after all.” She put air quotes around it and everything. Susan started giggling too. Suddenly, Ernie was laughing too. And Justin. Even Katie started laughing. Hannah was right, she did start a House war. And she was gonna win it too.

***

“I have an idea,” Katie said, sitting down next to Hannah and Hermione in the library. “Don’t laugh.” They sat at one of the big tables. Around her, Ernie, Justin, Susan, Harry, Ron, Luna and various other students crowded in to hear her. 

“Is this about Malfoy? Cause I heard about–” A Ravenclaw boy she didn’t know piped up but she raised her hand to silence them.

“Yes,” she said. “I punched Malfoy. It’s fine.” A whisper went around the group. She’d never spoken to half the people who were there; she’d asked her friends on Monday to bring anyone who was interested in getting back at Slytherin to the library Saturday. She was surprised so many people showed up.

“Come on, guys,” Luna said quietly. “Let her speak!”

“Thanks, Luna,” Katie smiled. “Anyways, you’re all here because–”

“Because we hate those slimy Slytherin gits!” shouted one of the Weasley twins. The red headed girl beside him, a Gryffindor girl named Finn Travis, laughed quietly.

“Well put,” Katie snickered. “I had an idea. Quidditch is canceled right? What if we challenged them? One night, six games, one house takes it all.” She waited for someone to say something. Of course, she hadn’t expected momentous cheers or applause, but she’d hoped someone would at least agree with her. 

Her and Hermione had hatched this plan after she’d heard about Zacharias. They’d been in the library all day figuring out how to sneak four Quidditch teams out of the castle. Luckily, Harry had them covered; apparently the twins had given him some map filled with secret passages. They’d found one that led from behind a picture in the Grand Staircase led to underneath the Quidditch stands.

“Alright!” said one of the Weasley twins jumping up from the table and earning a shush from Madame Pince. “Right! Gryffindors come with me! If you’ve got your own broom you’re on the team, if not, you’re on sign duty! As the reigning champions we need to defend…” he trailed off as a small herd of students followed him out of the library. Katie smiled. She noticed that the Ravenclaw’s had done the same, Roger Davies and Cho Chang were leading their house out, discussing strategies. Hermione, who was not interested in playing Quidditch, grabbed her hand and smiled.

“We did it,” she said softly, squeezing Katie’s hand. “They loved it!” Out of the corner of her eye, Katie saw Cedric standing in front of a group of Hufflepuffs, explaining how they were going to win. She smiled. 

“Only one thing left to do,” she said, the smile starting to fade off her face. “Get the Slytherins interested.” 


End file.
